March of Dimes Ambassador Families

BREWER – One out of every eight babies is born prematurely.

Was your baby born too early? Was your child born with a birth defect such as spina bifida? Or maybe you know someone who fits these descriptions. With the odds of one in eight, there is a good chance that you do know someone who came into the world a bit too early. That is why you might be the right person to become a March of Dimes Ambassador Family.

An Ambassador Family makes the March of Dimes mission tangible to the local community, providing a face and real-life story that people can relate to. These stories of hope and resilience are touching, powerful ways to motivate the community into action. Ambassador Families are also a way for volunteers to see the results of their hard work through a living example.

For every Ambassador Family who contributes to The March of Dimes, thousands will benefit.

If you would like to become a March of Dimes Ambassador Family or volunteer in other ways, such as at the WalkAmerica event scheduled for Sunday, May 6, in Lincoln, Bangor, Newport, Dover, Dexter and Greenville; and on Saturday, May 5, in Ellsworth, call the March of Dimes office at 989-3376 or e-mail Gene Staffiere at gstaffiere@marchofdimes.com.

Because premature babies need hope, love and help, consider becoming a March of Dimes Ambassador Family.

Road to Recovery program

More than 7,000 Maine residents are living with cancer every day. Because of advances in medical research, there will be cures for many.

Getting to the cure, however, can sometimes be a problem. The American Cancer Society’s Road to Recovery program builds a local network of volunteer drivers to provide cancer patients with transportation to and from treatments.

As part of the Anthem Healthy Communities giving platform, Anthem Blue Cross and Blue Shield and its employees raised more than $16,000 for the society’s Making Strides Against Breast Cancer walk. The organization also awarded its top fundraising team with an additional $1,500 corporate donation to the society that was used to purchase gas cards for volunteer drivers who use their own vehicles to drive cancer patients to and from treatment appointments.

Cancer patients are often too sick to drive themselves to treatment appointments and many don’t have friends or family members who can drive them each time. Some treatments may take place as often as five times a week for six weeks. Elderly cancer patients are especially in need of rides to treatment.

The society is now recruiting volunteers statewide to ensure that cancer patients have transportation when they need it. If you have a car and some spare time, consider volunteering for this program and help someone in your community keep an important appointment. Whether you are available once a month or once a week, you can be a Road to Recovery volunteer. For more information about the program, call the American Cancer Society at (800) ACS-2345 or visit www.cancer.org.