Brody, Collin & Audrey

Normally, the March of Dimes would be one of the charities that I sort of overlook, figuring it’s just too big and successful to need my dinky $100. But this letter from an Oglethorpe University alum (where my husband is president) was so touching –and let’s face it, the babies are so stinking cute– that I couldn’t resist.

Dear Mrs. Londergan,

I wanted to encourage you to donate to the March of Dimes Foundation. www.marchofdimes.com It is such a wonderful charity… and on a personal note, it has a special and lasting place in my heart.  After I graduated from the Evening Program at OU in 2002, my husband and I decided it was time to start our family.  After a few years, with the help of fertility treatments, we discovered that we were pregnant with triplets!  While we were ecstatic at the thought of finally having babies, we were overwhelmed with how dangerous my pregnancy was going to be. The question wasn’t if I would deliver prematurely, but how early my babies would arrive.

A tough beginning

As is the case with many multiple births, I started to go into pre-term labor at 24.5 weeks.  I was admitted to Piedmont Hospital, where I was placed on bedrest for 10 weeks.  I did deliver 6 weeks early, at 34 weeks.  My children were in the neonatal intensive care unit (NICU) for 3 weeks, made possible through funding by the March of Dimes.

The Bachmann Family

My husband and I were so grateful that we made it so long in our pregnancy that we decided to try to give back and become more involved in the March of Dimes.  In 2006, we were chosen as a March of Dimes Ambassador Family for the Atlanta Chapter, and for a year we gave speeches to companies and groups about how funding provided by the March of Dimes had helped me to “stay pregnant” and deliver healthy children!

So, I do believe that the March of Dimes is worthy of your consideration.  Remember, today’s babies are tomorrow’s Oglethorpe University Graduates! www.oglethorpe.edu Thank you,  Debbie Bachmann

So all kids can live happily ever after

As I dug deeper into Debbie’s cause, I learned at lot of impressive stuff. The March of Dimes was established in 1938 by President Franklin D. Roosevelt to save American youth from polio – a disease that had crippled him. The organization invests heavily in research to combat all kinds of genetic birth defects, low birth weight and premature birth that contribute to infant mortality, and the MOD folks have created a great online educational website at the Pregnancy and Health Education Center http://www.marchofdimes.com/pnhec/Since its inception in 1938, March of Dimes has helped millions of babies to survive and thrive. Including these three happy tots. Plus, January is Birth Defects Prevention month – so what a good time to give!