New Braunfels resident Brenda Pieper will never forget how The March Of Dimes stepped in when one of her premature twins went into the neonatal intensive care unit.
Born at 35 weeks, Jordan suffered a brain bleed and breathing problems frm underdeveloped lungs while sister Paige suffered no health complications.
“We just really enjoyed becoming involved with March Of Dimes after what they did for Jordan,” Brenda Pieper said. “They did testing for her when she was born. Jordan has cerebral palsy and autism, and I think this is a perfect example of how March Of Dimes helps children. As a mother, that's what the strange thing was for me to have one healthy baby and one that wasn't.”
Now, 12 years later, Brenda is a stay-at-home mom, while husband William works in the registrar’s office at The University of Texas.
Wanting to give back to The March Of Dimes, an organization that raises money for premature babies and children born with birth defects, the Pieper family served as the New Braunfels ambassador family in the 2009 San Antonio March For Babies.
The March Of Dimes honored the Piepers, top sponsor Guadalupe Valley Telecommunications and group members at Tuesday night's March For Babies reception at the McKenna Children's Museum.
March For Babies, formerly WalkAmerica, also raises money for research to find answers for health issues threatening babies.
March Of Dimes board members celebrated the local chapter's efforts in raising $27,000 this year.
Sheila Austin, March Of Dimes programs director, said she derived the most satisfaction connecting people to information that can help their children.
“Making sure Texas babies are healthy and that families have access to health information and advocacy is very rewarding,” Austin said. “The $27,000 raised for New Braunfels March Of Dimes will come back to the community in the form of services like grant funding and educational materials.”
March Of Dimes provided grants to McKenna, and Austin said the organization planned to expand its involvement and awareness campaign in New Braunfels.
“We want everyone to have access to us if we are needed,” Austin said. “We're in the very early stages of planning the next New Braunfels event, which will be a memorial service for families who have lost infants.”
The service is scheduled for November 2009, Austin said.
“The goal of our organization is to help infants stay healthy; but sometimes, infants do pass away from illness,” Austin said. “This memorial service is another way we plan to increase public outreach, create a place of support and provide education for the community of New Braunfels.”
