Neighbor News
Register Today for The Iris Fund's Half Marathon Team!
The Iris Fund is a Ridgefield-based nonprofit that funds critical preterm birth research.
The Iris Fund, a Ridgefield-based nonprofit that funds critical preterm birth research, is offering discounted registration for runners who join their team for the Ridgefield Half Marathon. This is a really fun hometown race with terrific community turnout, and you still have over a month to train!
To register, please click here and check the box for one of the two Iris Fund teams.
Pregnancy and infant loss can be incredibly difficult to discuss. But it's an issue that many families have personal experience with, and one Ridgefield resident is using her own tragedy to help other families dealing with this type of loss.
October is Pregnancy and Infant Loss Awareness Month. The Iris Fund was started by Brittney Crystal and Jose Aleman with the shock that women’s bodies are not better understood during even 'normal' labor and a passion to bridge that research gap - which will save and improve outcomes for babies.
“Thanks to our amazing community, we have raised close to $1,000,000 from more than 2,000 supporters in 35 states and eight countries,” Brittney explains. “We have received annual and multi-year commitments from a diverse and expanding network including private individuals, family foundations and corporate partners. As we look forward, we will continue to provide catalytic funding today while building the infrastructure to deliver $5-10 million over the coming years.”
The Iris Fund will be running with a team of moms and dads at the Ridgefield Half Marathon on Sunday, October 20 to raise awareness about these important issues:
- 1 in 4 pregnancies end in loss. We should know this before loss. Knowledge is power - it's going to help us advance the agenda of improving women's health and helping families heal.
- Brittney’s baby died being born. Her name was Iris. Her legacy was born right after and her family stands with the amazing women across so many organizations that are working to make it better for the next generation.
- We support the doctors, physicists and engineers who are answering the question of what triggers full term labor - to eventually stop it from occurring early - preventing preterm birth.
- We believe all families should be able to ask the basic questions about how their bodies work during pregnancy - and get answers. Iris’s legacy is one that will give peace of mind to all pregnant families and provide better outcomes for our most vulnerable babies - the 400,000 born too soon in this country every year, approximately the population of Tucson, AZ.
To make a donation please visit https://www.theirisfund.org/. All funds raised by The Iris Fund are tax-deductible and will be put to immediately to fund critical research and support high-risk and loss families.
