Pickin’ for Preemies Story

Dear Friends of Pickin’ for Preemies,

Mark your calendars! The 6^th Annual Pickin for Preemies event will take place on Labor Day 2011, September 5^th  This event, held at Billy Bob’s Texas, benefits Cook Children’s Medical Center Intensive Care Unit (NICU). More than a dozen Red Dirt music artists are scheduled to perform in a family friendly event that promises to be an evening you won’t want to miss!

Justin Frazell, morning DJ on 95.9 the Ranch Radio Station, and his family established this event in 2005. Past artists have included Grammy & Academy Award Winner Ryan Bingham, Charley Pride, Cody Canada, Randy Rogers, Stoney LaRue, Eli Young Band, Cory Morrow, Wade Bowen, Jason Boland, Kevin Fowler, Sonny Burges, Daryl Dodd, Bleu Edmondson, Aaron Watson, Bobby Duncan and many more.

“This was our way of trying to give back. Your help and graciousness with Pickin’ for Preemies is very much appreciated. God Bless you all!” -The Frazell Family

In 2010, the NICU at Cook Children’s discharged 804 babies. They received transfers from 46 different hospitals from across the state of Texas.  Of these babies, more than 120 weighed less than 3 pounds, nearly 140 weighed between 3 and 5 pounds, and over 500 weighed more than 5 pounds.  There were 63 cardiac surgeries performed.  Your sponsorship dollars will directly benefit these special babies the NICU takes care of every day.

This year we have made some exciting changes. The top level sponsorship tables will be round tables seating 10. This seating arrangement will allow easier movement for you and your guests throughout the evening. The meet and greet will be from 4pm to 5pm inside the main room, allowing for you and your guests to mingle with more artists before the show begins. Dinner and drinks will be provided during the meet and greet to eliminate long food lines and dinner vouchers.

Cook Children’s is the only NICU in Tarrant County that can provide ECMO (extracorporeal membrane oxygenation) for babies. In addition, they are the only NICU that provides hypothermia therapy for newborns with hypoxic ischemic injuries at birth. There are 27 board certified or board eligible neonatologist and over 45 Neonatal Nurse Practitioners who provide 24/7 in-house coverage for our babies. Approximately 800 people attended the Cook Children’s NICU reunion in 2010, as many families share a kinship and gratitude for the extraordinary level of care received!

With GREAT ANTICIPATION, we await the construction completion of Fort Worth’s brand new, state-of-the art $20 million dollar high tech NICU at Cook Children’s, doubling the capacity for admissions and reducing the 5-10% of babies diverted to other NICU’s for lack of space. It will increase the square footage of the current NICU by 60,000sf for a total of 87,000sf of private patient/family rooms that will have ability to accommodate multiples (twins, triplets and quads) and allow a family to be with all their babies at the same time. In addition, it will be one of the largest single room NICU’s in the country. The new unit is scheduled to open in summer 2011!

We look forward to seeing you at this amazing event!  Thank you for considering a sponsorship. We hope to raise a record amount of money during this year’s event. Cook Children’s NICU provides a level of care like no other and with your support, will continue to provide that care. Please feel free to contact me with any questions you may have.

Thank you SO much,

Julie Siratt
juliesiratt@me.com
817-996-4409

“Our Promise to improve the life of every child in our region begins with the smallest of patients, our neonate babies. We sincerely appreciate the support from Pickin’ for Preemies and everyone involved who wants to be a part of that promise.” Mr. Rick Merrill, President and CEO, Cook Children’s Health Care System

Pickin’ for Preemies Family

Past artists include some of Texas’ most outstanding musicians such as Charley Pride, Cody Canada, Randy Rogers, Cory Morrow, Stoney La Rue, Wade Bowen, Jason Boland, Ryan Bingham, Walt and Tina Wilkins, Bobby Duncan, Kevin Fowler, Zona Jones, Todd Fritsch, Jamie Richards, Sonny Burgess, Eli Young Band, Daryl Dodd, Adam Hood, Austin Allsup, Bart Crow, Bleu Edmondson, Mark Mc Kinney, Brandon Jenkins, Brandon Rhyder, Casey Donahew, Josh Abbott, Josh Grider, Aaron Watson and other friends of the Texas Music Community. More than a dozen attend each year!

Thank you ALL for your amazing generosity and support throughout the years!!!

“The best way to find yourself is to lose yourself in the service of others”  -Ghandi