The number you've ALL be waiting for...

People amaze me! Loni and I had a very successful first Baby Steps Memorial Race! We were able to donate a GRAND TOTAL of $9,000 to The Amelia Center.

That's me on the left, Andy McNiel (from The Amelia Center) and Loni Hodge. What a great team!

The center was VERY happy to receive such a large donation. We could not have done it of course without all of the participants, volunteers, sponsors and donors! You guys know who you are!!! We want to thank everyone for their hard work and kind heart!

Loni and I decided to donate the funds into a Remembrance Funds for Braden, Brody and Maddox Elise. This is something new for The Amelia Center.

Here's what their website says about the new opportunity - "A Remembrance Fund, bearing the name of a family member or friend, can be established to provide annual support to The Amelia Center by making a memorial gift of $500.00 or more. This can be made as an individual memorial donation or a combined memorial donation by you, family members and friends. Once a Remembrance Fund is established, friends and family can make contributions throughout the year to support the fund. The Amelia Center will send annual updates to those supporting the fund regarding opportunities to contribute. At the end of each year, a portion of the Remembrance Fund will be used to support Amelia Center program costs, the remainder of the fund will be sustained to build upon for the next year. Remembrance Funds will be acknowledged in the Tears to Hope newsletter and by letter to family members and friends at your request. In addition, each fund will be recognized on the “We Remember Them…” wall in The Amelia Center lobby."

We chose to set up the Remembrance Funds so that The Amelia Center can use all or part of the race donation before the end of the year. This type of donation allows them to carry over part of the funds into the next year if they wish. I'm very honored that Braden and Brody will have a plaque on the "We Remember Them" wall. I decided it would be best to have Braden & Brody one plaque rather than two. They came into this world together! They drifted from this world together! They belong together!

Business Sponsors Needed!!!!

Local Business Owners:
Please join us and your fellow local business owners in supporting the Baby Steps Memorial 5K Run/Walk at Tannehill Historical State Park benefiting the Amelia Center on August 29, 2009. All proceeds raised will be donated to the Amelia Center in Birmingham which has served as a place of hope for grieving children, parents and families for the past twelve years. The Amelia Center offers free grief counseling not only to parents and grandparents who have suffered the loss of a child but also to children who have lost loved ones. The center operates by donations and continued support from our community members and it is programs like this that are vital to many people here locally and in our neighboring communities. For more information on the Amelia Center visit http://www.ameliacenter.org/.

We have chosen to support this program as mothers who recently suffered the loss of our children this past year. Abby and Cary Nicholas lost twin boys, Braden and Brody at 22 weeks due to unexplained preterm labor in April 2008. Loni and Justin Hodge lost their daughter, Maddox Elise at 28 weeks due to Triploidy in February 2009. As two grieving mothers, our mission is to provide support to bereavement programs, NICUs and infant/child causes throughout our community. We organize, host and provide fundraising in the community to accomplish our mission to support these important causes.

The 1st Annual Baby Steps Memorial 5K Run/Walk needs sponsorship from local businesses both large and small. We are reaching out asking how each of you can help us to give these families the support they need to cope with their struggles. All business sponsors will be included on advertisement materials as well as race participant shirts.

There are many areas needing sponsorship but some of the biggest needs are:
• Monetary donations for T-shirts, race result equipment (Trak Shak), water/snacks for participants, park fees
• Door Prize items for participants such as any service or items from your business would be great!
• Coupons and promotional items for participant goodie bags
• Race Participant Company Teams are welcome!!!

We would like to thank you in advance for your consideration and support to make the race a success! Please contact us with any questions or to find out more on how to make a donation or become involved.


babysteps5k@yahoo.com

Donations can be made payable to Baby Steps and mailed to:

Baby Steps
PO Box 674
Moody, AL 35004


Sincerely,
Abby Nicholas & Loni Hodge