November 7th- POST SHOW BLOG
Itsy
By Mat and Laurel Lunnen (& Story)
Itsy is a charitable organization that supports the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU) at St. Joseph’s Hospital in London, Ontario. In addition to helping the “itsy bitsy” NICU residents, Itsy provides financial relief to families who have infants in the NICU over the Christmas season.
Itsy is very proud to present the 2nd annual fundraising event, A Tiny Night, which will be held on Friday, November 20th at Aroma Restaurant; mark your calendars! The fundraising evening will be cocktail style; complete with guest speakers, silent auction & raffles, entertainment, a gourmet miniature appetizer menu and will be emceed by media personality, Cheryl Weedmark.
Check out www.itsy.ca for more information!
Itsy was created by Mat and Laurel Lunnen after the birth of their daughter, Story, who was born 15 weeks premature, weighing a mere 1 lb 12 ounces. Story spent the first four months of her life as an “itsy bitsy” resident of St. Joseph’s NICU, but despite her very tough start to life, Story is amazingly now a healthy, happy toddler!
Mat and Laurel experienced firsthand the unexpected costs of having an infant in the NICU; their hopes are that Itsy and the upcoming fundraiser can ease some of that financial burden for other families.
Tickets are $50 per person and are available for purchase on www.itsy.ca; the website also includes an area to donate items, which will then be distributed to families. Proceeds from the event will go towards the purchase of much needed items, such as food, accommodation, medical equipment rentals and much more. “After going through the NICU journey with our daughter, we realized the emotional and financial strain that families are faced with; the purpose of Itsy is to relieve some of that financial pressure, so that families can focus entirely on their child,” said Mat Lunnen.
Sara Cameron, Manager of Annual Giving at St. Joseph’s Health Care Foundation, says they are happy to support Itsy’s fundraising efforts. “Events like A Tiny Night and the thoughtful support of community friends like Mat and Laurel Lunnen further enhance the good work undertaken each day at St. Joseph’s,” says Sara Cameron. “We are delighted that they have chosen the NICU as the beneficiary of their fundraising efforts.”
“We’ve been met with an incredible amount of support from the London community; this is definitely a cause close to the hearts of many people,” said Laurel Lunnen. “It will be a great night out for all who attend and for a very worthwhile cause. The theme is “tiny”, so expect all things small; the gourmet, miniature menu will be sure to impress you!”
Itsy is a grass roots organization with big plans; Mat & Laurel Lunnen hope to expand the website in the year ahead and make the site an outlet where parents can come together and provide support for each other. “We know what a scary time this is for parents; our hope is that we can continue to raise funds to assist families year round and also expand the website to create a virtual community for them,” said Laurel. “Like us, parents who are new to the NICU have so many questions and are often overwhelmed and sometimes just need the listening ear from someone who’s been through it; we hope to provide that for them.”
By: Shae and Greg Stanbra
We are the proud parents of our baby girl; Addison Maria Stanbra born on October 16th, 2008 at St. Joseph’s Hospital in London, ON. Addison was born at 25 weeks and 5 days old and measured in at 8 1/2 inches long and weighing only 1lb 4 oz. She was our tiny little gift from above and we watched her fight and grow stronger everyday during our 3 1/2 month stay in the Neonatal Unit at the hospital. Check out her full story at her blog; www.baben2labsrus.blogspot.com.
We are very blessed to have this little girl home with us and thank all the staff at St. Joe’s that crossed our path during our stay there. They are all wonderful people and go above and beyond what their job requirements are to help the families through their tough journeys. Thank you to all our wonderful friends and family and to those new friends that we met along the way, thank you for all of your help and support.
Donald D’Haene and Richard Young
The Beat Magazine
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Next week on the show….Master Gardener Ron Rossini helps us put our garden to bed and gives us some ideas when it comes to buying for that gardener on your Christmas list. And now that the colder weather is here to stay for a while, we’re going to help you save money and energy on your heating bill. And I think we could all use a little help when it comes to organization- we are going to talk with a professional organizer about removing clutter and where to begin!!!! Also next week, the Do Good Store and how you can turn your buying power into giving power! AND Of course it’s a chance for you to qualify for our New You contest again- a make over prize worth more than four thousand dollars!!!! And we will take a little trip to New York, New York and find out why poutine is not just a Canadian thing anymore.






































