march for babies blog

National March for Babies weekend is right around the corner! You’ve recruited your team, raised awareness and funds to support babies and families, and soon you will join more than 7 million people throughout 900 communities across the nation as you walk together for babies and families.

As you and your team gear up for March for Babies, keep the following preparation tips in mind to ensure it is a successful and fun event for everyone!

1-2 Days Before March for Babies
A day or two before your walk (or the morning of if you walk is later in the day) invite your team members to a t-shirt and/or banner making party. Create shirts for your team to wear as they walk for stronger, healthier babies and signs letting the world know who you are and why you are walking. This is a great opportunity to get everyone even more excited about the event!

Night Before March for Babies
Check the weather and let teammates know if they should pack a raincoat and/or sunscreen. Text, email or call your team to remind them about when and where the entire team will meet at March for Babies. Remember to plan time to take your team photo.

Pack the Essentials
As you lead your team, you want to make sure you are prepared for almost anything. Pack your bag the night before and include a fully charge cell phone, list of your team members’ phone numbers, team shirts and Band-Aids®.

Keep this information in mind as you prepare for March for Babies. And remember to encourage your team to share photos and your team’s success with March of Dimes Team Youth on Facebook (facebook.com/marchofdimesyouth) and on Twitter (@teamyouth).

Now lets hear from you:
What are your March for Babies essentials you pack before the walk?

Grammy Award winning recording artist Kelly Clarkson made a stop after her appearance on American Idol this week to join in the Dallas March for Babies, along with her friends and 30,000 walkers, to support the March of Dimes and the mission of healthy babies on Saturday, April 16!

A March of Dimes volunteer and celebrity ambassador since her inaugural American Idol win, Kelly has walked in March for Babies in Nashville before. She and her fans have also been engaged in our mission awareness and fundraising campaigns.

On Saturday, she got to meet some special volunteers from Dallas who have supported the March of Dimes in a big way, including Cedric Allen and his family. Cedric is the #1 fundraiser for the Dallas March for Babies, raising over $25,000!

Kelly also spent time with top March for Babies teams and Ambassador Families who share their story and connection with the March of Dimes, encouraging others to get involved with this special cause.

After a special guest appearance on stage, Kelly and her friends joined the many Texans to walk a sunny five miles through White Rock Lake Park.

Mission signs and beautiful photos in honor and in memory of babies showed the way through the park, connecting all walkers to the reasons they were all out there fundraising and walking.

Many thanks to Kelly and her team for supporting the March of Dimes year after year, and for helping give the Texas March of Dimes event a special treat with her appearance!

You can join Kelly Clarkson in supporting healthy babies by walking or donating to her team at marchforbabies.org/kellyclarkson.