First of all, I know everyone, everywhere has a favorite cause, and there is no reason why the one I’m currently supporting should be more important to you than any other good cause. I normally would not write to friends and family seeking support of a charitable cause, but I am really asking for your emotional support, so even if you do not care to make a financial donation, please keep reading.

Ian and I will be walking in the March of Dimes March for Babies at the end of April. Some of our friends are coming too, so we have a team of babies participating in the March for Babies. I was thinking about what the word “sponsorship” means, and I realized that NASCAR kept coming to mind, so here is the plan.

Ian’s sponsors will get a spot on the “car,” just like NASCAR sponsors. Obviously, in this case, the “car” is the stroller. I will put an image or phrase (of your choice, you so creative people) from each sponsor on the stroller while we train and during the March, and after the March, I will combine these images and any words of encouragement from friends and family into a keepsake for Ian. So please send whatever you have to offer in support of this project, whether it is a note, a rhyming couplet, a donation via the website, or two pennies and a nickel, and we will think of you while this blessedly healthy baby marches to help other babies who are no less loved. I will, of course, send photos as we deck out the “car,” so you can see what we’re up to. Your “GO IAN” is the most meaningful support we could have, and this way we can let the world know it.

Sponsorship donations can be as little or as much as you want- they accept donations as little as $5 via the website, and you could, of course, give me a dollar (or, as I say, two pennies and a nickel) to turn in. It all counts. If you want more information about the March for Babies or would like to donate money in support of Ian’s March, go here: http://www.marchforbabies.org/5feline5

And now, so this is not a mere crass, commercial appeal, here is the first photo I’ve managed to get featuring Ian’s brandy-new top teeth.