Would you click your mouse 3 times a day for 2 weeks if it meant helping OC Walk to Remember earn $10,000? Beginning today, November 19th through December 3rd, Orange County Walk to Remember is participating in the Vote Your Thanks campaign through the Connect OC/Non-Profit Central. The non-profit with the highest number of votes will receive $10,000!
1. Click the link below.
2. Click the “Vote Your Thanks” logo
3. Search for ORANGE COUNTY WALK TO REMEMBER
4. Click to cast your vote!
It’s that easy. And remember, you can vote once per day through December 3, 2013.
All funds raised by the OC Walk to Remember are used to provide grief support for families who have lost a baby due to miscarriage, stillbirth, SIDS, pregnancy loss or other infant loss.
*Thank you for your help! Please make sure to leave a comment here on the blog letting us know that you have voted and you will be entered into a random drawing to win any three prints from the Small Birds Studio Shop OR a set of any 5×7 five cards. Shop link – http://www.etsy.com/shop/smallbirdstudio
You will be contacted via email. The contest will run through Dec.3rd and the winner will be announced on Dec.4, 2013!
Close your eyes and let your mind be free. On November 16, 2013, the 1st Yoga to Remember class was lead by Rachel Gray. It was a chance for mom’s who have lost a baby to unwind and re-build positive energy.
“I will not be broken”
“The best time to start was yesterday. The next best time is NOW.”
“When your body changes, your breathing can be changed. When your breathing changes, then your thoughts can be changed. And when your thoughts change, then you can be changed.”
“Today is full of possible”
“A strong woman is one who feels deeply and loves fiercely. Her tears flow just as abundantly as her laughter. A strong woman is both soft and powerful. She is both practical and spiritual. A strong woman in her essence is a gift to the world.”
“Sometimes it’s okay if the only thing you did today was breathe.”
“There is no need of any competition with anybody. You are yourself, and as you are, you are perfectly good. Accept yourself.”
“The spirit within me honors and respects the spirit withing you.”
Reminder to mark your calendars! Yoga classes will be held every 3rd Saturday of each month. If you forget, there will be another message posted on our Facebook page for the next upcoming class.
We hope everyone who came out enjoyed the new yoga class.
OC Walk to Remember is pleased to announce an opportunity for funding to programs related to pregnancy and infant loss. The following application covers all the details of the Grant RFP. Most importantly, the deadline for applications is set for November 15, 2013.
We asked participants to send us photos from the OC Walk to Remember event and the emails keep coming in! You are welcome to leave a comment below with a link to an album you would like to share or email me [email protected] and it will be posted here. Thank you! Displayed are your pictures from October 5, 2013:
Barbara & Aaron Dieppa celebrate Ava ♥
“Last year, on Oct 5, 2012 we delivered our daughter stillborn due to unknown causes . She was 6 months and had no previous problems. I wasn’t even sure of I could get out of bed this day and was anxious about all the emotions I would feel. But instead we got up, and celebrated the fact of how far we have healed, and celebrated the memory of our firstborn daughter. I am currently 9 months pregnant with our rainbow baby , Leila due on Nov 2. Your organization is wonderful, and has all the resources available and is helpful to refer others to who have experienced such a loss.”
Due to the amazing growth of OC Walk to Remember, we are expanding our Board of Directors. We are accepting nominations for this prestigious, highly visible position through the end of October 2013. Self-nominations are encouraged.
The Board of Directors provides skills and connections and offers vision and direction to the organization. The OCWTR is seeking diverse candidates with experience in sales, marketing, executive management, finance, health care, psychology, fundraising, event management, and non-profit work who are passionate about our cause and the work that we do.
RESPONSIBILITIES OF OCWTR BOARD MEMBERS:
Board Members meet approximately 4 – 6 times per year, including one full-day retreat.
Board Members are required to attend the annual OC Walk to Remember 5K event
Board Members have minimum fundraising requirements
Board Members may occasionally be asked to perform other various duties to help promote and grow the organization
Board Members serve a term of 2 years, which is renewable upon mutual agreement
Prospective Board Members should email a resume or CV and a letter explaining his/her desire to serve on OC Walk to Remember Board of Directors to [email protected].
Selected nominees will be contacted in November for an in-person interview. Final decisions will be made by the end of November.
Any questions should be directed to Kristyn von Rotz at [email protected]
OC Walk to Remember relies on donations to help the thousands of Orange County families who have lost a baby or will lose a baby. We need your support to reach our 2013 fundraising goal.
Our campaign ends tomorrow, October 15, which is Pregnancy and Infant Loss Awareness Day. Thank you to those of you who are working so hard to raise funds in memory of a baby or babies. The funds raised go directly to support families who have lost a baby to miscarriage, stillbirth, SIDS, pregnancy loss and infant death. OC Walk to Remember supports 28 Orange County hospitals, Orange County support groups, and national pregnancy and infant loss organizations. To learn more about what OC Walk to Remember does in the community, watch this video.
Donations are used to:
Provide medical professionals with bereavement training, so they can help families through their loss. So far in 2013, OC Walk to Remember has educated 79 doctors, 130 nurses, and 270 medical office staff.
Purchase books for local hospitals, so as mothers recover from delivery or surgery they have a way to read about other women like them that have survived the heartache of loss.
Print informational brochures in English and Spanish, so families that have experienced the loss of a baby know where to turn for support once they leave the hospital.
Purchase memory boxes, so families can have something to hold in their empty arms. The only keepsake we will have of our baby is the box we receive in the hospital.
Provide cameras, photo printers, printer ink, photo paper and other supplies to local hospitals so parents will forever have photos of their baby or babies.
Provide iPods and docking stations so medical staff can provide music therapy to families going through a loss.
Provide Orange County support groups that help families grieving the loss of a baby with funds to: hold reunions, distribute books, give small gifts to parents who have lost a baby, and pay rent and other operating expenses.
Run the OC Walk to Remember Balancing Life & Loss: Parenting After Loss Group for families parenting a living child while grieving the loss of a baby.
Provide families who have lost a baby with small notebooks, which become keepsakes where they can write about their baby.
Run the OC Walk to Remember phone, email, and website, so parents seeking support always have a place to go. Requests for support are answered by a social worker.
The funds will also be used to support a brand new program we started this year in conjunction with UC Irvine Medical Center: The Perinatal Palliative Care Program. This program will provide care for families who are given a poor prenatal diagnosis, meaning the baby they are carrying will die at birth or shortly after birth. The program will provide counseling, spiritual support, pain management, coordination of care from all medical professionals involved in the pregnancy, and more. Families who receive the heart-breaking news about their unborn child with life-threatening or life-limiting conditions are faced with difficult choices and have many questions as well as emotional, social and spiritual needs. The program will guide the family through this traumatic experience of learning their baby is going to die. It is our hope to partner with many more hospitals to expand this program.
Your donation will change the life of families experiencing the loss of a baby.
We thank you so much for your support.
Kristyn von Rotz, Cofounder/Board of Directors
Elizabeth Pagliarini, Chairwoman of the Board of Directors
Catherine Steen, Board of Directors
Kari Poucher, Board of Directors
Kristy Cornell, Board of Directors
Ryan Farnsworth, Board of Directors
Kristin Cyprien, Executive Director
