‘Hope Parade’ to be held Nov. 6 to support families with babies in intensive care
Few life events are as terrifying for parents as having their newborn baby whisked off to a hospital’s neonatal intensive care unit.
As World Prematurity Day draws near in November, the volunteers at ICU baby are planning their second annual Hope Parade to support families with babies in intensive care. This year the parade will be Nov. 6 at Zoo Miami. Ron Magill will serve as emcee.
“Nearly a year ago, I experienced the unthinkable — a baby being born at 28 weeks [about three months premature] and on life support,” said Stephanie De Maria Rosado.
“Thanks to the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit at South Miami Hospital, today baby Carlos is a happy and healthy baby and I’m forever grateful to the attendants in the NICU. Today, I give back as a volunteer at ICU baby which supports the NICU and its families.”
It is hoped that former NICU babies and their families, friends, medical teams and supporters will join together in the Hope Parade. ICU baby will honor babies who survived their NICU journey, remember those who didn’t survive, and pass hope to the babies still fighting.
With 1 in 10 babies born preterm in Florida, according to the March of Dimes, the goal is to increase awareness about infant prematurity while raising funds to support families with babies in intensive care.
Gloria Fonts Suarez, wife of Mayor Francis Suarez and ICU baby board member, will serve as grand marshal of the parade. She invites the community to attend the Hope Parade.
“ICU baby is a gift to the community. They support NICU families at hospitals in our city. This walk gives us the opportunity to support and celebrate the organization,” she said.
The Hope Parade is a family-friendly 2.5-mile walk with activities and entertainment for children and adults. The event will also reunite former NICU babies with their nurses and doctors who helped save their lives.
UM Jackson Neonatologist Grisel Galarza, a champion for NICU babies and their families, will participate in the Hope Parade.
“I have to be there. This is our way of connecting outside the hospital, of having a reunion, a family reunion, of seeing the fruit of our labor. It’s going to be amazing,” Galarza said.
ICU baby was founded in 2014 and has supported NICU families at Baptist Health’s South Miami Hospital since 2015 and Holtz Children’s Hospital at Jackson Memorial since 2016. Register to walk or make a donation at https://icubaby.org/hope-parade/
Lions Club hosts toy drive
Members and friends of the Miami Buena Vista Biltmore Lions Club gathered Oct. 15 to launch the Club’s annual Holiday Toy Drive during its “Nightmare Before Christmas Luncheon.” The event was held in Little Havana’s popular Casa Juancho Restaurant.
Guests enjoyed a traditional Spanish lunch and live music, and participated in raffles and costume contests. The Holiday Toy Drive will run through December. Toys collected during this and other events, as well as at toy donation drop-off boxes located in several local businesses, will be distributed to children in need throughout Miami-Dade County.
For more than 50 years, the Miami Buena Vista Biltmore Lions Club has participated in service projects such as vision and diabetes screenings, health fairs, holiday toy drives, back-to-school supply distributions, and humanitarian assistance following natural disasters.
To donate toys call 786-252-3928 or email dpedreira01@gmail.com More at Miami Buena Vista Biltmore Lions Club - Lions e-Clubhouse
Villagers House Tour is back
After a two-year, pandemic-related hiatus, the return of the Historic House Tour in 2022 marks the 37th year The Villagers has offered this popular event. The Coral Gables’ Villages and Homes of the “Roaring ‘20s” will take center stage 10 a.m.-4 p.m. on Dec. 10.
The tour will offer guests a peek inside a few of George Merrick’s iconic themed Villages as well as homes built in the Mediterranean Revival style. Members of The Villagers will be on-site to explain each home’s distinctive history and features as well as the unique story of the Gables’ thematic Villages.
The group has also brought back their holiday tradition of raffling off a handcrafted, history-inspired quilt.
This year’s one-of-a-kind piece “Birds of a Feather” is in honor of the historic Doc Thomas House owned by the Tropical Audubon Society. The pattern of birds sitting in a tree is a tribute to the long support The Villagers have given for restoration of the site. Tickets can be bought from members or during the House Tour. The winner does not need to be present at the drawing.
The properties on the tour cannot accommodate wheelchairs or strollers, and homeowners request no high heels or photography. Tickets are $50 and are available www.thevillagersinc.org Proceeds support the preservation and protection of historic sites in Miami-Dade County.
Divorce coach publishes book
When Michelle Dempsey-Multack went through all the intricacies of a divorce with a young child, she began to see the need for a supportive community. She has since become a certified divorce specialist as well as a highly respected writer, coach, and speaker.
She recently published “Moms Moving On: Real Life Advice of Conquering Divorce, Co-Parenting Through Conflict, and Becoming Your Best Self” through S&S/Simon Element, an imprint of Simon & Schuster.
The book is full of tips on how to thrive. It also can help anyone who is contemplating divorce by providing insights into planning and preparation.
Dempsey-Multack, who lives in Aventura, is also an influencer with over 150K Instagram followers @themichelledempsey And she hosts the top-rated “Moms Moving On” podcast.
Her daily videos and posts contain relatable, real-world advice. She said her goal is to help people “live happy, healthy, independent, stable, productive lives free of the burdens and social stigmas of divorce.” The book is available on Amazon. More at www.momsmovingon.com
Write to ChristinaMMayo@gmail.com with news for this column.
