Sip and Paint for Preemies draws support
Published:Saturday | March 30, 2024 | 12:07 AMRollesha Laing/Assistant Lifestyle and Entertainment Editor
“Touching”, “heartwarming” and “a more than worthy cause” were just a few of the many positive sentiments shared by guests on Thursday evening as the Preemie Foundation of Jamaica hosted its third staging of the Sip and Paint for Preemies fundraiser.
Guided by the hashtag: #PaintForPreemies, the creative and intimate atmosphere, set up at Toyota Jamaica on 93 Old Hope Road, saw approximately 40 attendees – inclusive of donors (new and recurring), supporters and preemie parents – come together to sip, paint, eat, give and spread the word for a worthy cause.
Speaking with GoodHeart, founder of Preemie Foundation, Serika Sterling, said the event was initially inspired by the need to create an intimate and interactive environment, inspiring joy in supporting the cause.
“We didn’t want to have a sad event because as you know, premature births can come with a lot of illnesses and sometimes babies die,” she began, continuing, “and overall, the foundation itself supports a cause that is a little bit sad. So, we wanted to have an event where people can see the fun side of things and enjoy themselves while supporting a cause.”
Preterm babies, often called ‘preemies’ or ‘tiny fighters/warriors’, are defined by the World Health Organization (WHO) as “babies born alive before 37 weeks of pregnancy are completed”. In Jamaica, facilities and equipment to support these tiny fighters are limited, and as such the push to raise funds, donate and lend a hand is significantly greater.
Since its inception in 2017, the foundation has assisted in the advocacy and education of premature births as well as the donation of various necessities and medical equipment to care facilities, all while fostering a community to help premature babies and their parents navigate a difficult time. Continuing their 2023-2024 project, the proceeds from the Sip and Paint for Preemies event will contribute to the donation that is set to go towards the creation of a nursery at the Princess Margaret Hospital in St Thomas.
“The Princess Margaret Hospital does not have a N.I.C.U or a nursery; so currently when babies are born they actually stay on the maternity ward which is not the best way. And when babies are critically ill in that parish (St Thomas), they have to be transported to Kingston or sometimes the Annotto Bay Hospital. So what we want to do is renovate and outfit a section of the hospital with medical equipment and so on, to house ill babies,” Sterling explained.
Helping the tiny warriors to fight the battle are the parents who are grateful for support and a strong community.
SUPPORT APPRECIATED
One such preemie parent, who also participated in #PaintForPreemies, is Nadia Nivens Jarrett. Speaking with The Gleaner, she said that seeing people supporting the event makes her emotional.
“I am a preemie mom and I feel very proud to see people out this evening and just generally supporting the initiatives [of the foundation]. I was with Serika when this whole journey started, so to see us now, years later, and seeing the support…hearing from the sponsors and just seeing how many people want to change what’s going on and to improve the care of our preemies, it just makes me feel really good. I feel blessed,” she said as she looked around the room, smiling.
In addition to fundraisers, the Preemie Foundation hosts annual blood drives to donate blood to hospitals. Sterling shared that through her own experience, having premature triplets, in which two of her three babies died, she recognised the importance of donating blood.
“We’ve done eight blood drives since we’ve started, partnering with different organisations to raise awareness about the need for blood in premature babies. My babies when they were in the hospital…I can’t even count combined. But one of them had about 24 blood transfusions and another one had 30 odd. So it’s while I was in the hospital, I knew the importance of donating blood.”
Looking ahead, the Preemie Foundation aims to expand its role as an advocate and supporter for preemies.
“We have mothers, MPs, persons from different parishes, reaching out, wanting to do something in their parish… The hospitals have always expressed their gratitude for what we have done, they reach out to us and let us know what they need, and we try our best to get it. The Ministry of Health has also been very appreciative and supportive to our cause,” Sterling added.