Maya Shamsid-Deen

We are back for another year! Last year, thanks to your generous donations - this fundraiser raised $170! Let's do even better this year and raise $200!
Again, I will be walking Mother's Day morning (May 9th) to fundraise for March for Babies. This program provides health education, advocates for policies that prioritizes mother and baby's health, and funds research to find solutions to the biggest health threats facing mothers and babies. As a member of Zeta Phi Beta Sorority, Inc. we not only fundraise annually to support these initiatives but our chapters' institute targeted programming for low income Black women and women of color through our Stork's Nest program, which provides educational workshops and access to free baby items such as clothes, diapers, formula, etc. 

Investing in mothers and babies is crucial for our community. As Black American women, our prematurity birth rate is 14.2% compared to the national average of 10.1%. And YES, both of these numbers are higher compared to last year's statistics in this post! Black children are twice as likely to die before their first birthday compared to white children. The prematurity birth rate in the USA is the worst among all "developed" nations and is the largest contributor of infant death in the US. These statistics are unacceptable.

I ask that you donate to support the March of Dimes' research, educational programs, and advocacy that will truly makes a difference to families in our community and across the country. If you would like to pledge an amount per mile, I will be updating the number of miles I walk the evening of Mother's Day on my Facebook page. Thank you! Let's continue to make an impact together.