March for Babies - Austin, MN  2013

Date:
Time: 9:00AM
Registration Time: 8:00AM
Holiday Inn - Torge's Live
1701 4th St NW
Austin, MN 55912

Join your friends, family and co-workers in the Austin/Albert Lea area and march for healthy babies! When you walk, you give hope to the babies born too soon or sick. The money you raise supports programs in your community that help moms have healthy, full-term pregnancies, and it funds research to find answers to the serious problems that threaten our babies.

Leading the charge in Minnesota is our March for Babies Chair Lawrence Massa, President and CEO of the Minnesota Hospital Association. MHA and its 144 hospital and hospital system members work each day to provide quality care for patients and meet the needs of communities in every corner of Minnesota. Lorry and his team are encouraging everyone to be their best for babies in 2013.

Our kickoff is Friday, February 22 from 6:30 - 8:00 p.m. at Riverside Arena - Austin pponsored by the AUSTIN BRUINS HOCKEY TEAM! Stop by the hockey game between 6:30—8:00 p.m. to pick up team folders and supplies. Team Captains receive a FREE ticket to the game! Enter a drawing for a Bruins autographed hockey stick! Try your luck at Chuck-A-Puck!
Bring the entire family!

Meet our Ambassador Family
Luke Gooden was born 12 weeks early weighing less than 2 1/2 pounds.

“The first glimpse I had of the little miracle was all the tubes, cords, and monitors,” said his mom, Megan. “It was the most heartbreaking sight I have ever seen. I was overjoyed to see him, but I was very saddened as I looked over his delicate, breakable body. His skin was almost translucent, and his little tiny arms and legs were smaller than my fingers.”

Luke spent his first 11 weeks of life in the newborn intensive care unit (NICU). Babies who are born prematurely, like Luke, often have breathing problems, due in part to a lack of surfactant. The March of Dimes played a leading role in developing surfactant therapy for premature babies.

Luke’s mother, Megan, suffered from preeclampsia; a serious form of high blood pressure during her pregnancy, forcing Luke’s early birth. Recent March of Dimes funded research demonstrated an important pathway of preeclampsia and a potential new approach for diagnosis and treatment.

Today, Luke is a happy, healthy 2-year-old boy who loves playing with cars, trucks, tractors and trains.

“By telling our story of Luke’s premature birth, we hope it will bring awareness to March of Dimes and how much they need your help,” said Luke’s mom, Megan. “Everyone knows someone who has had a premature baby, a baby with a birth defect, or maybe even knows someone who lost their baby. Help us support the March of Dimes! They are trying to make sure this never happens again. Our babies can’t speak for themselves, but I know they would want us to say, ‘Please donate to the March of Dimes and help us save more babies lives!”

Join your friends, family and co-workers in Grand Rapids and march for healt... more

Join your friends, family and co-workers in St. Cloud and march for healthy ... more

Join your friends, family and co-workers in the Bemidji area and march for h... more

Join your friends, family and co-workers in Winona and march for healthy bab... more