Saving Babies Lives, One Step At A Time

Today marks a day that changed our family's lives forever.  Eight years ago today, a baby was born.  Her name is Kaydence and we try to do what we can in her memory.  She was born far too early to stay here with us. The doctors said there was nothing they could do. The parents were experiencing a nightmare that far too many people have to endure.

From the Team Kaydence Website:

We are the Plunkard family from Evans City, PA. Our journey with the March Of Dimes began in 2005 when our world was turned up side down. On March 28^th, 2005 our daughter was born at 22 weeks gestation. She weighed 1lb and was 10 ½ inches long. Kaydence lived for 47 minutes, and since then we have made it our lifetime goal to put a stop to premature birth. That year we joined forces with the March of Dimes, and since then we have raised over $31,000.
We do some fundraisers during the spring to try to raise money for the organization that helped our family members when they needed it. We are forever grateful for the March of Dimes and what they do for families across the country during the darkest days of their lives.

My family will be walking again this year to help in just one way that we can. We will be walking in Pittsburgh, along the city streets with a crowd of thousands as we remember those that are not with us, honor those who received the care they needed to be here and those that are not here with us yet but are fighting to make it.

How can you help? You can make a donation to Team Kaydence as we fight for babies lives. My page is up and ready to accept donations, in any amount.  Every single dollar helps in the fight against premature birth and birth defects.

We are also hosting a Virtual 5K/10K/15K to help in the fundraising efforts for Team Kaydence. You can sign up here and help us help those families that need it or the couples that are fighting to start a family.

If you are local and would like to join us as we walk, let me know, we would love for you to join us!
 

Run or Walk to Help Save Lives

There are quite a few charities that are close to my heart. There is one, in particular, that I strive to support each and every year, in every way I can. I participate in fundraisers, I walk/jog a 5K in the city and I donate money/products to help the team. That charity is the March of Dimes. We are a part of a family team called Team Kaydence. Kaydence is an angel baby born to Chuck's niece in 2005. She was born at 22 weeks gestational and weighed in at 1lb. and 10 3/4 inches. The doctors and nurses said that nothing could be done for her and so they put a tiny hat a dress on her, wrapped her up in blankets and allowed the family to spend time with her. She breathed on her own for 47 minutes before leaving this earth to be a butterfly. We raise funds in her memory and in honor of her younger brother, Jaxten, who was born premature and spent weeks in NICU until he could safely go home. They also have a younger brother, named Nolan, who was able to make it to full term! It is a sad story but out of it came this passion and drive to help so many other families that need our help. We are trying to help in the efforts to raise awareness, help fund research and funding to those who need it. We are helping to save babies' lives and help lessen the risk of birth defects. The team has several fundraisers but this year, I wanted to do more. I have become aware of the draw of virtual runs through a few of the groups I am in so I decided to start and host a virtual 5K in memory of Kaydence! I have setup an event on Active.com and so anyone can participate and help us save babies' lives and change millions of families across the nation. The run details can be found here. Please, consider running or walking to help us out or help spread the word so we can help as many people as possible!