Newsletter | December 2021
The Rise of Phoenix
By Celia Lisset Alvarez
ICU baby Parent-to-Parent Supporter
Nicole was married at 17 and divorced at 23. At that time, she was ready to be independent and have fun. A young hairstylist and makeup artist, she was not interested in nor ready to have a baby. Then, after just one random night, she found herself pregnant. Surprised and upset, Nicole considered terminating the pregnancy. Somehow, however, she just couldn’t do it. Except for her mom, Tany, no one knew about the pregnancy for some time. Nicole feared others’ disapproval. Yet, when everyone found out, she received nothing but love.
Over 600 community members joined together for ICU baby’s inaugural Hope Parade, kicking off World Prematurity Month 2021 and raising over $50,000 to support local NICU families. A heartfelt thanks to the generous event sponsors, teams, participants and entertainers for making the first Hope Parade so meaningful and such a success! Watch just how special the Hope Parade was in this short video clip.
Thanks to the Hope Parade team captains for taking the initiative to form a team & recruit a group to participate. Three cheers for our 2021 Hope Parade Teams!
AJ’s Warriors
Aldrich Family
Alexander the Great
All for the NICU
Cash Money
Colored Brains
Durand Hernandez
Elara's Animal Parade
Friends of the Fox family
Gymboree Play & Music/Coral Gables
Holtz NICU Docs
Jaya Tribe
Laps with Lomi
Miguelito
Mila M & Jorge
MOPS of Homestead
NICU Moms
NICU Strong
PBS Kids
Reading Between the Wines
Samuel’s family
Santa Maria Family
Sofia’s Crew
South Miami Pediatric Dental Associates
Team Buggy
Team Jackie
Team Montejo
Team Oliver
The KipCap Triplets
The Pocheches
The Rodriguez Crew
Twin Warriors
Please take a moment and click below to view the generous sponsors who made this event possible. ICU baby specifically thanks our Gold Level Sponsors for their level of commitment and belief in the mission of the event, even in its first year - Healthy Start Coalition of Miami-Dade and Beautiful Minds PPEC.
The Hope Parade united NICU families from across Florida.
"The story below written by NICU mom, Valerie Hernandez, is a beautiful testament to the power of community".
NICU Families Sharing Hope
By Valerie Hernandez
ICU baby Parent-to-Parent Supporter
When my son, Reese, was born I didn’t get to meet him until he was three days old. We were both very sick. I was recovering from HELLP syndrome, a life-threatening pregnancy complication that causes liver failure in the mother while slowly depriving the baby of the nutrients needed to grow. Reese was also recovering a few floors down in the NICU.

When I was finally well enough to see Reese, I was so scared. He wasn’t just small, he was skin and bones. He reminded me of a bird who was pushed out of his nest too soon. I knew my body did this to him. I pushed him from his nest and the guilt was overwhelming.
Our Impact in the Community This Year
Celebrating NICU Babies on World Prematurity Day
On November 17th, 2021, World Prematurity Day, ICU baby Parent-to-Parent supporters returned to deliver joy and support to families at both South Miami Hospital and Holtz Children's Hospital. The Parent-to-Parent Supporters delivered diapers and gift bags that had Frida baby care kits, WaterWipes, and a one year membership for qeepsake memory books. It was incredibly meaningful to ICU baby’s Parent-to-Parent Supporters to be with families at their baby’s bedside once again and the perfect complement to our ongoing tele-support of NICU parents to be sure they receive the support they need.
A Record Breaking Give Miami Day!
Give Miami Day has become the hallmark of ICU baby’s fundraising efforts to support programming throughout the year … and this year we broke records! Over 200 donors rallied around the mission of the organization and our 2021 Give Miami Day Campaign “NICU Firsts,” raising over $68,000! Thanks to key match donations, the tremendous leadership of the ICU baby Board of Directors, and our loyal supporters for making this ICU baby’s most successful Give Miami Day yet! Check out our Instagram Profile to view our campaign or watch our “NICU Firsts” campaign video in this short clip.
Nourishing Our NICU Heroes
Our meal at South Miami Hospital in October was generously sponsored by Jack Mason Siberry & the Siberry Family.
ICU baby honored over a hundred NICU healthcare heroes by providing meals in October as a way of saying thank you for continuing to be on the ‘front lines’ for NICU babies. ICU baby's Nourishing Our NICU Heroes initiative began last year during the height of COVID and has continued through 2021. Nurses, doctors and staff in the NICU’s of Holtz Children’s Hospital and South Miami Hospital have received 458 individually packed meals from ICU baby this year alone. The healthcare teams have helped to distribute our NICU Packs and transportation assistance stipends which has enabled us to continue helping families during the pandemic. The nursing teams also offer assistance to ICU baby’s Parent-to-Parent Support volunteers who continue supporting NICU families telephonically. We are grateful for the collaboration and for the restaurants and donors, like October’s meal sponsor, the Siberry family, who helped us with this project.
Volunteers Making a Difference
We would like to thank Christopher Columbus News Network volunteers Juan Garcia - Emanuel Naccarato - Daniel Rossi-Montero - Alexis Vivanco for preparing this video documenting our first anual Hope Parade.
Volunteers played an instrumental role in the planning and execution of the ICU baby Hope Parade... from the Parade Planning Committee and Marketing Team, to the prep work and day-of parade volunteers. Nearly 100 volunteers came together and dedicated over 500 hours to making ICU baby’s first annual Hope Parade possible. Students from the Christopher Columbus News Network volunteered their time to document the parade, capturing many special moments. ICU baby thanks all our volunteers for their time, commitment and dedication to making our first Hope Parade such a successful event for our NICU community.
ICU baby youth ambassadors off to a great start this year!
ICU baby thanks our Youth Ambassadors for their time,
commitment and passion in supporting our NICU families!
Written by Garrett Fox
Youth Ambassador Newsletter Correspondent
 
The second year of the ICU baby Ambassador Program has started with an enthusiastic and driven group. The group met for our first meet and greet on September 18th, 2021. There are several returning ambassadors and some new members for a total of 8 ambassadors this year. In October, we gathered to help prepare registration bags for the ICU baby Hope Parade. This was a great team bonding event. The ambassadors also volunteered at various booths at the ICU baby Hope Parade, and we all enjoyed the walk! It was so touching to see several graduates of the NICU and their families. The ambassadors are meeting next on December 12th, 2021 for a holiday gift wrapping event. Our group looks forward to continuing to make an impact during the second half of the year!
Gratitude for Our Grant Awards
ICU baby is proud to be a first time grant recipient of The Community Engagement Fund of The Children’s Trust. Funding is earmarked to support ICU baby’s Transportation Assistance Program which supplements home-to-hospital transportation costs for families who have financial hardship. This grant award ensures that babies in the NICU and their parents are united, aligning with The Children’s Trust’s mission to support children and their families in Miami-Dade County. ICU baby is also honored to be a first time grant recipient of Prolacta Bioscience Foundation. Prolacta Bioscience produces specialty nutritional formulations made exclusively from human milk and is best known for its development of 100% human milk fortifier (HMF) to improve outcomes for premature infants. ICU baby will use funding from the Foundation to create NICU Empowerment Support Tools (the NEST) which offer families the opportunity for greater access to NICU resources and information. ICU baby could not carry out its mission without the support of our foundation partners and we are grateful to both new supporters of our programming.
Gratitude for Our Givers
ICU baby thanks all of the individuals, foundations, and companies who made monetary and in-kind contributions during the months of October and November.
Nathalia Ashworth
Christine Du Bois-Buxbaum
The Faist Family
Danielle Fenske
Giving | Grousbeck & Fazzalari 
Jennifer Goldstein
Ruchi Kaushal
Lucia Ojeda 
Rosa de Pacanins
Mike de Palma
The Ramoski Family 
Madhuri Sebastian
All donors who generously supported ICU baby for our Hope Parade and on Give Miami Day are included on our website. We're humbled by the number of friends, family and community members who contributed to ICU baby during these events. https://icubaby.org/hope-parade/ and https://icubaby.org/give-miami-day-2021/
Donors that contributed $50 or more in October and November are listed above. All donations, no matter the amount, are needed and appreciated.
ICU baby’s Volunteer Spotlight
Monica Babich is a woman with a lengthy list of talents, a heart filled with compassion and a drive that is unstoppable. She has applied her extraordinary abilities to advocate for and help NICU families. She is a NICU Mother herself, having delivered her daughter Elara prematurely in 2019. The ICU baby team met Monica on the floor of the NICU while she was sitting bedside at Elara’s isolette and the connection was immediate. When Elara was discharged, Monica stayed in touch with the organization, donating and sending regular updates with adorable photos of Elara’s progress.
New Volunteers
ICU baby Welcomes its New Volunteers Parent-to-Parent Supporters.

Adriana Del Vecchio
Fabiana Lacayo
Calling Former NICU Parents to Join Our Team
ICU baby is expanding its Bereavement Program and is looking for former NICU parents who are interested in joining our team and giving back in a meaningful way. Volunteers will provide grief support to NICU parents whose baby doesn’t survive. We welcome volunteers who speak English, Spanish, and Creole. Please email vanesa@icubaby.org for more information.
ICU baby is also looking for English, Spanish, and Creole-speaking Tele-support Volunteers for our Parent-to-Parent Support Program. If you are a former NICU Parent and interested in helping to support current NICU families through their challenging NICU journey, please email the VP of Volunteer Engagement, Vanesa Salvo, at vanesa@icubaby.org.
ICU Angels
Even the smallest of feet have the power to leave everlasting footprints. 
We, at ICU baby, remember our NICU families who have lost their babies this year. They will forever be in our hearts.
Photos for ICU Hope
Calling all NICU families … we need your Hope! … Please send media@icubaby.org a picture of your baby from the NICU and now! Please include the gestational age when born, birth weight, length of NICU stay, and how he or she is doing now. Please also include your social media information if you would like ICU baby to tag you. We will feature your baby on our social media to give current NICU the Hope they need during their toughest NICU days!
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