Welcome to this month's edition of “Special Delivery”, the monthly newsletter from Miracle Babies! Each month, we will share information about Miracle Babies events, news, and, most importantly, our impact. We are proud of our work and it is important for us to share these accomplishments with supporters like you!     

We welcome your feedback and suggestions:   admin@miraclebabies.org
Share a picture of your NICU baby to provide hope and
ï»żinspiration to others.
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IN THE NEWS
Royalty Brown , daughter of hip hop and R&B superstar Chris Brown, accepts a toy donation challenge where she was given the opportunity to collect as many toys in 60 seconds to benefit nonprofit Miracle Babies . Additionally, Distroller doubled Royalty's collection providing Miracle Babies over 100 dolls to distribute to NICU families.
Miracle Babies and WaterWipes
ï»żUnite to Support NICU Parents

ï»żWe are thrilled to announce that Miracle Babies and WaterWipes have teamed up once again to provide support to families with hospitalized newborns. WaterWipes will be sponsoring (5) Miracle Hours, 2500 Miracle Babies nylon care package bags, and travel size wipes for each care package. Many of the parents we service have fallen in love with WaterWipes and their purity. We are grateful for a continued partnership with WaterWipes!
LOVE & CHEER
ï»żALL AROUND
We had some amazing Miracle Hour's this past month. We were able to spread a lot of love and cheer to families with hospitalized newborns. December can be a tough time to have a baby in the hospital. With holidays and people celebrating it can bring up emotions some families are not ready to face. Miracle Babies brings the joy directly to the hospital with special Miracle Hours. We bring a warm catered meal, holiday crafts and exciting raffle prizes for the families.
Thank You to Our Holiday
In-Kind Supporters
Thank you to these individuals and companies who provided our NICU families extra support during the holiday season:
  • swaddle4swaddle for providing 400 extra swaddles to be delivered to NICU parents in San Diego and Orange County.
  • Stephanie Duggin, HOPE Infant Family Support Program educator, for donating over 25 charm necklaces for mom's spending the holidays in the NICU
  • MEMEENO for donating 50 Baby Belly Bands to help reduce infant gas and discomfort
  • Distroller for donating over 50 Neonate dolls which are given to NICU baby's older siblings
  • Cruise 4 Kids for donating 4 giant bags full of teddy bears to go to NICU baby's older siblings
  • Rowena Treitler, for hosting lunch at Rady's December Miracle Hour
  • PACE Recovery Center for hosting dinner at UCI Medical Center's NICU Holiday Party

#PlaydateWithPurpose
Diaper Drive
Thank you to Carly Zuffinetti, Carly Kenihan, Flower Hill Promenade and Oakwood Escrow for hosting a #PlaydateWithPurpose.
ï»żThe annual diaper driver successfully collected over 3000 diapers!
Thank you to everyone who participated in donating diapers for families with critically ill newborns in the hospital.
Miracle Babies accepts diapers year around!
Please see our Amazon link for details.
THANK YOU GORJANA
Thank you to gorjana for hosting a fabulous shopping event this past month! Supporters from all over San Diego County stopped by the fashion jewelry store in UTC to purchase last minute holiday gifts as a fundraiser for Miracle Babies. We raised $521 from just a few hours of shopping! To top it all off, gorjana also donated three necklaces to Miracle Babies to give out to mom's with newborns in the NICU. We are incredibly grateful for the support we receive from gorjana !
Miracle Babies teamed up with UCI Health and its pediatric department to bring holiday cheer to NICU families. The UCI Police Department brought Santa and his elves, while our generous friends at Pace Recovery Center provided dinner. Miracle Babies brought stockings, and ornaments to decorate for babies bedside and gifts from WaterWipes , Distroller and Swaddle4Swaddle .
EVENTS
Upcoming Events:
On March 3, 2020 the “Miracle Circle: A Labor of Love” presents “Breakfast at Tiffany’s” at La Valencia. The annual luncheon includes a breakfast cocktail reception and decadent brunch. Proceeds benefit Miracle Babies supportive service programs.

Miracle Circle was founded in 2014 to band together philanthropic and innovative leaders to serve as good will ambassadors who support the work of Miracle Babies through fundraising, community outreach, and advocacy.

Miracle Circle members receive a complimentary ticket to “Breakfast at Tiffany’s” and recognition at all events, as well as access to exclusive volunteer opportunities, and an invitation to an annual brainstorming meeting to collect feedback and share Miracle Babies experiences.  Click here to learn more about joining the “Miracle Circle: A Labor of Love”.
Early Bird Registration starts TODAY!
ï»ż
Get $10 off each registration with promo code: EARLYBIRDSD5K

Hurry! Promo code ends January 31, 2020
OUR IMPACT
Miracle Babies had this impact in December 2019: 

  • $19,000 awarded to 49 families in need in San Diego and Orange County. By removing financial barriers and providing key resources during the weeks following a child’s birth, we have the potential to positively impact health outcomes for an entire generation of children!

  • 80+ parents participated in 6 hosted “Miracle Hours”.  Parents enjoyed a meal, participated in crafts, and most importantly, escaped the isolation of the NICU – if only for any hour. 

  • 215 care packages were delivered to 10 hospitals. These packages were delivered to parents with babies in the NICU, regardless of need. These packages contain contents intended to support parents who spend considerable time in the NICU breastfeeding and providing “kangaroo care”.

Thanks to our generous supporters, Miracle Babies had this impact in 2019:

  • 750+ parents participated in Miracle Hours across San Diego and Orange County

  • 2,300+ care packages were delivered to hospitals throughout San Diego and Orange County

  • $250,000 was awarded in financial assistance to parents
If you are interested in volunteering or making an in-kind donation, please contact info@miraclebabies.org .
Thank you to the following Facebook friends who “hosted” Facebook fundraisers in September to raise money for Miracle Babies:
Sue Matsumoto, Ana Mora, Cinthia Salvador Mejiaz, Bree Love, Diana Radzewicz, Joy Nguyen, Rob Knaggs, Emma Simpson, Marianne SC, Dayre Soto, Natalia Kogut, Devlon Underwood, Barbara Read-Havertape, Logan Covell Turner, Denise Nuño - we appreciate each one of you!
If you are interested in “hosting” your own Facebook fundraiser for Miracle Babies, go to the Fundraiser section of the Miracle Babies page and click on “Raise Money” or click below.
MIRACLE(S) OF THE MONTH
Elena, Evelyn and Ezekiel
Meet Miracle Babies Elena, Evelyn and Ezekiel. Miracle Mom Vanessa says of her time in the hospital with her babies, " There’s nothing that can prepare you for the NICU. Delivering my triplets at 31+3 was hardest thing I’ve been through in my life. I spent 35 days admitted in the hospital prior to having our babies born. Small babies weighing 2lbs 12 oz, 3lbs 1 oz & 3lbs 10oz. Bright lights, beeping sounds, babies in incubators, not being able to hold your baby right away, no skin to skin, breastfeeding, privacy, tubes in your babies, teaching your baby to suck, swallow and breath, no sleep, barely eating a meal, there’s nothing that can prepare you for this. Driving there everyday, dropping milk off, staying 8-12 hour days and I still have a toddler at home. Many days and nights of tears and constant praying God keep my babies healthy and send them home soon. 29 days in the NICU for my son and 55 days for my twin girls."
 
Vanessa has been extremely thankful for the support she received throughout her journey, "Miracle Babies was there to offer food, crafts, financial support, hugs and lots of love. They became our family like the NICU nurses while we were there. Without them we couldn’t have made it through. They are such a blessing and we will forever be grateful for them."
 
All three babies were able to be home before Christmas! We look forward to watching your three grow!
MIRACLE WORKER
Each month, “Special Delivery” will spotlight a “Miracle Worker” – someone who contributes to make Miracle Babies great!
Alicia Acosta
Alicia Acosta is a bilingual Licensed Clinical Social Worker who graduated from SDSU in 1974. She has been working at Rady Children’s Hospital for 45 years and most of that time has been spent working in the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit. Alicia was also honored the National Association of Social Workers Lifetime Achievement Award in 2008.

While working with NICU families during their hospitalization, Alicia identifies varying resources that will benefit the family’s needs. One of the most useful and supportive resources has been the partnership with Miracle Babies. Miracle Babies provides parents with monthly gift bags, financial support, baby items and holds monthly Miracle Hour events. Miracle Hour is a time for parents to meet other parents and enjoy lunch with crafts to take their minds off the hospitalization for a short period of time.

Alicia keeps Miracle Babies busy as a champion in advocating for her NICU parents. Thank you Alicia for your long-standing support and caring for NICU families' collective well -being!