Today my daughter is walking in the March of Dimes Walk for Babies 10K fundraising walk in Portland, Ore. As a neonatal intensive care unit (NICU) nurse at Portland’s Oregon Health Sciences University/Doernbecher Children’s Hospital, Jenny works daily with the tiniest and most fragile of newborns. She provides the highly specialized care these infants need and sees the difficulties new parents struggle with as they face the long-term health issues of babies born too soon. She also sees the support which March of Dimes provides those families through classes, resources and support groups while the organization also funds research to find and prevent the causes of premature birth. So it’s a no-brainer that she and a team of her colleagues are participating in today’s event, one of nearly 700 walks held across the nation this spring boasting a total of 3 million participants. The March of Dimes has held these walkathons since 1970 and raised $2.3 billion over the years. I recall walking in one of the early events in Portland when I was in high school (a 20-mile endurance feat!), but my family’s support of this cause goes back much further. My mother was also a nurse at Doernbecher Hospital before she married, and even while raising seven kids, she found the time each year to be our neighborhood’s coordinator for the annual fund drive. Our appreciation for March of Dimes’ work on behalf of preemies and their families deepened this past year when our first grandchild was born four weeks early and spent nearly three weeks in the NICU. So it seems our family connection to this organization is a meant-to-be thing. I’m sure our readers have their own personal favorite causes they support, often for such personal reasons as mine. Remember our own Global Traveler family’s special cause, The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society, receives all the proceeds from our online auction. Bidding closes this coming Friday, May 1, so be sure to check out the fabulous travel-related items and place your bids to support a great cause! — Patty Vanikiotis, associate editor/copy editor