LLL in the USA WORLD BREASTFEEDING WEEK CELEBRATION

FUNDRAISING IDEAS

Letters to Solicit Donations

Successful Informal Letter to Family and Friends
by Annie Brown, Leader, LLL of Greenwich-Stamford, CT

To all my wonderful friends and family,

It's that time of year again. August 1-7, 2005 is World Breastfeeding Week and I am raising money for my favorite non-profit organization, La Leche League. I can't believe that it's already been 10 years since I became an accredited leader. I was pregnant with Christina and remember holding my candle at the ceremony with pride. Since then, I have probably helped over 1000 mothers with breastfeeding problems and I’m still going strong. (My kids and my husband groan when those calls come in while I'm cooking dinner.)

Although nursing my own children is a distant, fond memory, I find renewed hope everyday that breastfeeding will be accepted as the optimal food for every newborn. The medical research on breastfeeding has increased exponentially in the last decade, constantly implicating artificial baby milk for the prevalence of so many different diseases: obesity, diabetes, ear infections, diarrheal illness and certain childhood cancers to name a few. Over 750 children die each year as a result of not breastfeeding. I know that sounds unbelievable but it is true. Alas, even the US Government was blindsided by the formula lobbyists who were successful in keeping those statistics out of the new Health and Human Services Ad Council Campaign "Babies were born to be breastfed" which began last June. Studies found that mentioning only the positive aspects of breastfeeding did not increase the initiation rate as much as showing the negative effects of not breastfeeding did. If every parent knew of the dangers of infant formula, it would be easy to choose breastfeeding.

If I was queen of the world, I would guarantee access for each baby to the healthiest start in life: breastmilk. I'd break down the barriers to delivery of this optimal health care, including ignorance and misinformation (the two most common reasons mothers choose not to nurse or to quit.) I'd like to establish a comprehensive support system for the new mothers in every community to foster breastfeeding, from the hospitals, down to the health care providers, down to the community support groups. La Leche League, the world's foremost authority on breastfeeding, provides local leaders like myself with the education, tools and materials needed to achieve this goal. This organization provides breastfeeding education and support locally, nationwide and globally. I also hope that one day people will be so convinced that breastfeeding is the only way to feed babies that they will stare in disbelief when they read how we had to fight to promote it.

Our fundraiser, a Kid's Walk for Breastfeeding and Picnic, will be held on August 6. All of our kids, yes mine included, will walk (ok, some will ride in strollers) around the Bible Street Park in Cos Cob to raise awareness and show their support for mother's milk. The funds that we collect are shared throughout the LLL organization. Locally, the proceeds from this campaign go toward funding our twice annual newsletter, and providing our local hospitals, doctor's offices and Health Departments with free educational tear-off sheets, magazine subscriptions, medical literature periodicals, and reference books. As a result, in the past five years, our meeting attendance and monthly phone calls have nearly doubled! We reach more people and help more mother-baby dyads than ever before...we even have a mother who is exclusively nursing 6 month old twins! Our efforts really do work.

I do hope that you would consider donating to this worthy cause. Ultimately, the optimal health of every baby depends on it. Oh, and smile at the next nursing mother you see.

Please make your checks out to La Leche League and mail them to: xxxx, xxxxxx, xx 00000 .

A big Thank You from all the mothers and babies you will help,

Lucy Leader