Once again! Loki Sky and his NICU Friends Holiday Fund

Dear Family, Friends, Friends of Family and Family of Friends,

The Loki Sky and his NICU Friends Holiday Fund is launching one more time. And once again we hope that you can help families in need at the Alta Bates Summit Medical Center NICU. At the close of this letter, you can find instructions on how you can do so.

We are deeply grateful for your support over the past years. You've helped dozens of families who have newborns in the Alta Bates Summit Medical Center NICU, while facing financial challenges. The NICU shared the story of Maria and Juan, who directly benefited from your donations last year. They were evicted from their apartment just as their baby girl was born at 29 weeks gestation. With your help, they were able to purchase essentials such as a portable crib, a stroller, and a baby swing. You can read their full story at the end of this email.

Together we will help other families like this who are in need, and we hope you will support our efforts. Our goal is simple: to reach the $10,000 combined in our four years of fundraising. This will require $2,005 this year. We can do it!

How can you donate?

1) Internet: Please go to http://www.paypal.com and use a credit card or Paypal account to send money to XXXX[AT]gmail[DOT]com. Be sure to note "Holiday Fund" in the comments.

2) US: Please mail checks in name of: XXXX. Please write “Holiday Fund” in the memo.

3) NL: Maak geld over op rekening XXXX o.v.v. “Holiday Fund”

We have a somewhat tighter schedule this year, as we have been busy managing the consequences of our own child’s premature birth. Our deadline is the 24th of December.

With warmth,

Loki Sky and his NICU Friends

Maria and Juan’s Story:

"Maria and Juan were very excited to be first time parents and looking forward to having their baby girl when she was unexpectedly born early at 29 weeks gestation. Maria, who spoke only Spanish, and Juan were very devoted and loving parents. Their support network was also limited all of their family members lived in Mexico. Juan would drive Maria to the hospital every day at his lunch hour from East Contra Costa County, where she would spend the day with baby Lupita while Juan worked. While Maria and Juan delighted in their baby, they were very concerned because they had just learned that the home they were living in was going to be sold and they had to find a new apartment very quickly before baby came home. While Juan worked, they still needed to have money to pay a deposit and first and last month’s rent on a new apartment. In addition, they had to pay for the gas every day to visit Lupita while also saving for the baby equipment they would need for her. This was a very emotionally trying time for Maria and Juan as they were very worried about Lupita and dealing with the stress of having her separated from them. Maria found herself in tears often wondering where they were going to live and how they would pay for their new apartment, gas AND Lupita’s things. Things became even more stressful for the family when they heard the news that Juan’s brother had died unexpectedly in Mexico. Despite their concerns about money, time needed to find a new apartment and their sadness about Juan’s brother, they continued to come daily and Maria continued to pump breastmilk around the clock for Lupita, who never knew a day without her parents coming to visit and care for her. Eventually, Maria and Juan found a new apartment but were especially relieved when they learned that they could receive assistance with purchasing a portable crib, a stroller and a baby swing from the Alta Bates NICU Family Resource Council assistance funds. With their NICU social worker, Maria went “shopping” on-line and was able to pick out a Minnie Mouse themed portacrib/playard that matched the theme of the other nursery they had planned for Lupita as well as a stroller and a swing. Having this very important help from the Family Resource Funds meant that they could save their money to pay for their costly moving expenses without having to forgo important baby equipment. While these gifts helped to reduce Maria and Juan’s stress about how they would manage financially, the assistance meant so much to them that Maria cried with appreciation knowing that other people cared so much and wanted to help."