Brooklyn Ruritan Club holding breakfast fundraiser for Big Hearts 4 Tiny Hands on Sunday, Feb. 27

By J.O. Parker
 
    The Brooklyn Ruritan Club is hosting a Pancake Breakfast fundraiser on Sunday, Feb. 27, with proceeds going to Big Hearts 4 Tiny Hands Foundation.
     Serving will be from 8 a.m. – 1 p.m. at the Michael J. Manatt Center. The menu includes omelets, sausages, biscuits and gravy, pancakes, milk, juice and coffee, all for a free will donation.
    Friends of the Big Hearts 4 Tiny Hands has donated two baby quilts which will be raffled off at the breakfast. Raffle tickets are $1 each or six for $5 with proceeds going to the organization.
Big Hearts 4 Tiny Hands raises funds to help local families with babies in the NICU (Neonatal Intensive Care Unit) or term babies with complications.
     Since its founding in 2012, the organization has helped 67 families and 76 babies who have spent 2,470 days in the NICU.
     The organization provides a daily stipend to the families who have a child in the NICU. The funds, which are in the form of gift cards, are used to offset housing, food and gas. The only requirement is that the family has a connection to Poweshiek County either through work, family or reside in the county.
      The organization was started because there was a need for an outreach to families with prematurely born babies who spend time in the NICU. Some children can spend two or more months in the NICU.
     “Big Hearts 4 Tiny Hands is a grass roots nonprofit organization that is driven to help ease some of the stress associated with having a child in the NICU,” noted board member Jessie Lacaeyse.”Our board has all had a NICU experience, whether it has been our own child or a niece or nephew. We’ve been blessed by our donors to be able to help families in Poweshiek County since 2012. We hope to continue that for many years to come.”
     “We are proud to be able to help the organization out with this fundraiser,” said Louise Van Ersvelde, a Ruritan Club member.
      Current board members are: Jessie Lacaeyse, president; Nichole Bushong, vice president; Julie Hendricks, treasury; Jess Renaud, secretary; Katie Osborne, Jenny Bos, Brenda Day, Katy Calkins and Julie Meyer.
      If you are unable to attend the event but would like to donate to the foundation, please send your tax-deductible donation to: Big Hearts 4 Tiny Hands, P.O. Box 177, Brooklyn, IA 52211.