Rock and Roll inspires edginess!

Growing up with a father who played the drums in rock bands, rock music was my childhood soundtrack and rock musicians were my uncles. I like to joke that I grew up in bars and lounges watching my dad play, but my mom doesn’t really like when I tell those stories. (And she's 75% Irish.)

When it comes to being edgy, I think of being bold or cool. Hosting an immersive give-back event for 80 kids, 4 nonprofits, and subsequently launching a new shirt campaign for NICU babies in NICU Awareness Month felt very edgy in Wee Macree’s 10th month of business. It was cool, it was bold, and it totally rocked! And the setting only amplified the experience- Dairy Joy, a retro 50’s inspired ice cream business with a sizable side yard for kids to roam.

Children were invited to complete a challenge card, visiting four local Tampa Bay nonprofit stations to complete giveback activities and learn about how each charity helps kids in our community. Feeding Tampa Bay hosted a game that focused on scarcity of resources to drive the idea of hunger home. The group also collected the most needed food items that families brought from home. Redefining Refuge (our Presenting Sponsor) offered a butterfly craft that focused on a mission of transformation. TRIBE Seminole Heights presented the opportunity to collaborate on an art piece with a local artist that was later used for signature programming for the organization as art, creativity, and individuality are at the core of its mission. Finally, children earned the final stamp on their challenge cards at the High Risk Hope station where they picked out a book to wrap for a mock-baby shower, and give to the charity for their Books for Babies program that is backed by research to show how important it is for babies in the NICU to be read to. Even more than that, this was the beginning of Wee Macree’s partnership with High Risk Hope to raise awareness for all of their programming and for prematurity. In this campaign, we offered baby sized shirts for the first time so that recent NICU graduates could also participate in helping other premature babies.

And once those challenge cards were completed, every child earned free ice cream from Dairy Joy. Their fully stamped guide served as their payment and their good was rewarded, and that was our way of really showing our 80 friends how doing good always comes back to you ten-fold!

I’m excited for this campaign. I love Joanna’s (Modular Ink) art. I love the black (edgy and unconventional, I know). But I also love the thought of expanding awareness to another age group where 1 in 10 babies are born premature every year.

Here’s to rocking this one together, and seeing our kids do good…for babies too.

EDIT, January 2023:

As High Risk Hope has decided to dissolve after 12 years of service providing vital resources and hope to over 12,000 families in the hospital before and after the birth of their premature babies, we have shifted our giving to a new partner: Project Sweet Peas.

Project Sweet Peas is a national 501c3 organization that provides services much like High Risk Hope across a larger geographical area. We are so grateful for the short time we partnered with a Tampa-based nonprofit, and look forward to growing more awareness for a new beneficiary as our 'Wee Rock' campaign plays on.