If you have already read through previous posts, then you already understand the significance of the March of Dimes mission for our family but if not, please read the posts under the "pprom/nicu" tab above. You don't have to read through them all but a post or 2 will give you an idea of what we have been through with our youngest child, Jaxon. He was born 3 months premature and has been through A LOT his first year. Look at this handsome face for a minute and let him play on your heart strings a bit before you continue on:
......okay, now if I can get your attention back this way again. I promise I'll post another in a minute so you can get some more of that yummy goodness! Okay, so he is now 13 1/2 months old and is still going through a lot because of his prematurity. The March of Dimes mission is to raise awareness and funds to support research, education and resources to help prevent prematurity and birth defects. They are an amazing organization reponsible for the lives of millions of babies, too many to ever even really know. I have 3 preemies myself who would most likely not be alive today without the March of Dimes, my Jaxon most definitely would not be. (and can you IMAGINE a world without that face?-----did you just look back up at the picture again? I knew you did because I had to as well) Anyways, (FOCUS) :) we are the ambassador family for our local March of Dimes chapter and I am totally dedicated to doing everything I can to help spread this March of Dimes mission to as many people as I can!! I am getting good at the awareness part of things. I mean, I doubt if there is anyone who has been near my zones (Facebook, my blog, my pinterest...me personally...) who doesn't know my passion for the mission of the March of Dimes. I am now working on the fundraising part. Awareness is HUGE! But without the financial backing for research, medical equipment, education materials, etc, then nothing can get off the ground. Did you know that a baby on a ventilator costs a little over $300 A DAY??? All three of my preemies were on a ventilator. Jaxon was on one for EIGHT WEEKS! I know a few babies who were or have been on them for 2 years and more! March of Dimes works to keep expensive but necessary equipment like this in NICUs. Did you know that over 40,000 babies in the US are born each year with a congenital heart defect? The March of Dimes works to support research for congenital defects/diseases like this as well as helping to provide educational materials for not only the medical staff that works with these babies but also the parents so they can learn more and be a part of their child's care team! These are only a few of MANY MANY examples of the great things the March of Dimes does. These things cost money and that's what I want to try and help with but I need the support of compassionate people who are willing to take the time to consider that these children's lives are worth more than their Starbucks run today. I'm not going to ask anyone to empty their bank account. I understand that everyone has needs and things in their lives that are very important so not everyone can give all they have to every good cause. But I am asking if you would just consider clicking on the link I am going to list below and just donating a dollar. Just a single dollar. You probably have more than that laying around your house you can deposit on your next trip to the bank to cover it. :) If you want to give more then (of course) I won't stop you but really, just a dollar is enough. Because if everyone who visits this page or our Facebook page donates $1, then I can raise enough to meet our BIG GOAL by April 12th, the day of our walk. Okay, so...here are the ways we are raising the money. (do you wanna see another ADORABLE photo first? ---I already had it inserted here so figured I'll keep it as a nice little break to divide this post up a bit and add some color...pretty BLUE color! LOOK at those EYES! WOW!)
Okay, so here are the different fundraisers:
1- You can just make a donation straight to our March of Dimes team fundraiser. Here is the link and all your donations go straight to March of Dimes and are tax deductible and ALSO are added to our teams goal :) ----- http://www.marchforbabies.org/personal_page.asp?pp=4576339&ct=4&w=6358311&u=DestinyCiera
2- You can purchase a Jeremiah 1:5 tshirt or hoody at the following link. These start at $12 each and are purchased straight from this page which runs fundraisers. Once all shirt orders are purchased, processed and delivered, they will donate all profits directly to the March of Dimes for us. They will ship your shirt directly to you. I LOVE these shirts. I like that they apply to ALL preemies. While we were deciding what to put on them, we considered "Team Jaxon" or "Jaxon's Journey" (since that's been the name of his Facebook page) but we opted against that because we wanted something that represents ALL babies. Our cause isn't JUST about Jaxon, it's about ALL babies, even those yet to be born. Our mission is to PREVENT premature birth for every baby possible so I like that these shirts represent that mission. Anyways, here is the link to order. They make great gifts as well. There are several different styles you can choose from: http://teespring.com/jaxonsjourney
3- You can purchase silicone bracelets by messaging us on Jaxon's Facebook page. We have multiple color bracelets including purple for prematurity and black, gray and blue. They each say "Team Jaxon" on them and we are selling them for $2 each. You can order them by messaging us and letting us know the color you would like and how many. The link to Jaxon's page is: www.facebook.com/jaxonjeremiahwetzel
Alright, so, for now these are the fundraisers we have going on and as I said before, 100% of the money we raise will go towards our March of Dimes walk! We will never ask or expect even a penny for ourselves or our family, not even for his medical expenses. It is much better to put it to where it can help MANY babies and families who need it much more than we do so we really hope and pray that you will consider helping us with this mission through one of these different ways. Thank you so much for taking the time to read through this. If you have any questions you can always email, message, facebook me or comment below. Please pin this post to help spread it as well and share it with family and friends! The more people we are exposed to, the more chances we will have of reaching our goals. Everyone or someone they know has been directly affected by the March of Dimes so this is not some random organization out there helping some unknown mysterious "they"s, it is a very personal and present organization, active and doing work all around us with people all around us. I hope none of you ever has to experience what our family has been through, but at the same time, I hope and pray that it doesn't just take going through it for people to realize how significant this organization is to us ALL!
Blessings!
Destiny
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