How we became involved with the March of Dimes

After the premature birth of our twins, Jacob and Samuel, I was looking for a way to honor all that Jacob had overcome and for a way to keep Samuel’s memory alive. The March of Dimes’ walk, March for Babies, seemed like a perfect way for me to do just that. While I was on the March of Dimes’ website I realized that our family already had a connection with the March of Dimes. Part of their mission is to help moms have full-term pregnancies and healthy babies. The March of Dimes funded the research that lead pregnant women to take folic acid as a way to reduce neural tube defects like spina bifida. As soon as I found out I was pregnant with Michael I started taking my prenatal vitamins which included folic acid. I was already taking folic acid when I got pregnant with Alex.


After Michael and Alex were born they benefited from all of the prenatal screening the March of Dimes supports. Along with improving the health of babies by preventing birth defects the March of Dimes is working towards preventing premature birth and infant mortality. They are able to do this by the research they fund and by offering support and comfort when babies needs help to survive and thrive. All of their efforts made a difference to our family. Without the research and development of artificial surfactant* neither Jacob nor Samuel would have lived for any amount of time. The March of Dimes staff member at Geisinger Hospital helped our family while Jacob was in the NICU. She supplied us with materials on premature babies, what to expect while our son was in the NICU and information on grieving after we lost Samuel. This level of support makes a huge difference when families find themselves in the scary and unfamiliar world of the NICU.

My commitment to the March of Dimes deepened even more in the last few months when I learned that not only do they help fund research for premature babies, cerebral palsy and seizures but also for cancer, diabetes, childhood leukemia, and epilepsy…all of which have afflicted the lives of our family and friends in some way. And the list doesn’t stop there. There are over 60 other research projects the March of Dimes is currently funding nationally and internationally.

Team Jacob and Samuel hopes that we can count on your support this year! It is our hope that some day all babies will be born healthy!

*Surfactant is a substance the body produces to help re-inflate the lungs after each breath; premature babies are often not yet able to produce it in sufficient quantity. Treatment by giving artificial surfactant through the windpipe was developed with the help of the March of Dimes.

Thank you,



Elise Stopper
Captain for Team Jacob and Samuel