Lincoln Learning Solutions today announced a philanthropic effort on behalf of the Beaver County March of Dimes, who selected LLS employee Stephanie Davis’s 4-year-old son, Brody, to serve as its 2018 March for Babies Ambassador.
LLS will kick off March (of Dimes) Madness to coincide with college basketball’s widely followed NCAA Tournament, which begins in earnest tomorrow.
“What a better way to raise money than to tap into an already existing craze that permeates nearly every office – filling out the brackets,” Lincoln Learning Solutions Vice President of Philanthropy, George Pacinda, said. “We are grateful Stephanie brought Brody’s cause to our attention and hopeful we will raise $1,000 this season.”
Born 26 weeks premature at 1 lb., 11 oz., Brody was immediately placed on a ventilator for 19 days, receiving two blood transfusions, oxygen through a hose and nourishment through a tube. As a result, his mother said, he developed retinopathy of prematurity, a disease causing the retinas to detach from the back of the eyes, which leads to blindness.
“Thanks to the March of Dimes research efforts, Brody received a laser treatment that saved his central vision,” Davis said. “He lost his peripheral vision, but he can see.”
She said Brody spent 96 days in the neonatal intensive care unit, and was released on his actual due date.
Davis, a client services representative at Lincoln Learning Solutions, said she is so appreciative of the organization’s efforts to help her son that, when Brody was chosen to serve as its ambassador, she approached her bosses to ask if LLS could back the cause.
“We are enormously grateful for this strong support from Lincoln Learning Solutions for the life-changing work of the March of Dimes,” said Beaver County March for Babies Campaign Chairman, Dr. Chris Reber.
“All indications are that they plan to make this an annual drive, teaming up with like-minded businesses throughout the region to capitalize on March Madness,” Reber said. “That’s the kind of partnership we need.”
Pacinda said that, as a nonprofit, Lincoln Learning Solutions is dedicated to playing a philanthropic leadership role, particularly where the causes involve children.
“We feel a responsibility to our Beaver County community, and have tried to foster the same attitude among our employees. We are very proud of Stephanie, and selling $5 NCAA Tournament brackets is a fun way to contribute to the success of her family’s ambassadorship,” he said.
