I haven't been running the Helping Hands site Sponsorship program for a couple of years now. Joanne had sponsored the site by special request back in May in memory of her son Nicolas, and if there's enough interest I would be glad to run the sponsorships again. It helped with the website costs and also gave me the extra funds to send packages out in the mail to grieving families too. I've changed it a bit from how it used to look, instead of having to go to a separate page people can click to view the baby's nursery page straight from the main page of the site and instead of four spots I'll make five available. That should ensure that those who would like a spot can have one.

If you're interested in the Helping Hands sponsorship program, please visit the page on the site about it here.

Julie (Kaycee's Mom) has asked for help in getting baby photos for an upcoming SIDS walk. She would really appreciate it if other SIDS families could be a part in their awareness event. Below is from her email to me:

"We have started a foundation in Kaycee's memory (Kaycee's Foundation of Hope) and we raise money for research, support bereaved families in our community, and raise awareness about SIDS.

"We are having the 2nd annual Kaycee's Walk to Remember in Peoria, Az on October 26th and would love to display as many baby's pictures as we can along the route. We also have a memorial area at the event, and would love to share the story of anybody's angel that is willing to let us.

"Anybody that wants to have their precious baby remembered at our event, can send a picture and their story to Julie@KayceesHope.org or Juliezona@yahoo.com"

You can find their website at: http://www.kayceeshope.org and there is some additional information about Kaycee's Walk to Remember on Julie's website here: http://www.kayceeshope.org/Event1.htm

If you'd like to submit your baby's photo and/or story for her SIDS walk, please email it directly to Julie using one of the email addresses she listed.

Thanks!

I'm posting this on behaf of Cheri Schleicher, SIDS Grandmother to Tiberius Schleicher. You can visit his nursery page here. Cheri is organizing a SIDS fundraiser to benefit the SIDS Foundation of Colorado. If you are interested in helping out please contact her directly at cherischleicher@yahoo.com.

From Cheri:

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I am doing a SIDS Variety Fundraiser Saturday, July 14th here at Riverside Park in Salida. It is actually being called "SIDS Variety Fundraiser" since it is a little bit of everything. We are hosting an Art Show, Craft Show, Car Show, 5K Run, Sids Walk, Pirate theme with a Treasure Hunt, Treasure Chest, Coloring contest, face painting, Dunk Tank, Bouncing Houses, Entertainment throughout the day, A Silent Auction and round the evening with three different bands playing. It will be an all day event, starting from 8:00 in the morning until 10:00 at night. I am wanting to create a giant puzzle that has pictures of children who have died of SIDS. I want to make people aware of just how many children we loose to this -thing-. Then I will sell each piece of the puzzle for $1.00, a 1,000 piece puzzle and when it is completed, it will be donated to the SIDS Foundation of Colorado. I want to construct a pretty big size puzzle so I would like to have a lot of pictures. I would also like to have the name of the child, their birth date and their angel date.

The reason I am doing this fundraiser is because I have lost my first and only Grandchild, Tiberius Schleicher, to SIDS in March, 2007. I do benefits for the schools and other organizations in Salida and felt that I needed to do this, not only for me, but for my Grandson, who had no reason whatsoever to die, let alone die like this. I want us to find an answer, so perhaps others will be saved. That is why I am doing this fundraiser, for my Grandson Ti and the many of children like him.
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If you would like to share your SIDS baby's photo for the puzzle Cheri is creating, please send it to her directly along with your baby's name and dates. Her address again is cherischleicher@yahoo.com.

Thanks everyone!

NOTE: This is not related to SIDS Families at all, I am merely sharing the information.

A note from SIDS Mom Rachel Yerbich:

We are also going to be holding a fishing tournament on Aug. 11th 2007 in Bemidji Minnesota. It is the very first of its kind. It is called the Sudden Infant Death Syndrome (SIDS) Walleye Classic. You can check it out by visiting the website: www.sidswalleyeclassic.com.

We are looking for photos, names and dates of infants in MN that have died from SIDS. WE COULD USE VOLUNTEERS AND DONATIONS!!!!

Thanks so much!