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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

A Facebook event initiated by L’il Aussie Prems founder has united strangers and generated cash in recognition and celebration of babies born prematurely.

On 6 April, 19,364 Facebook users wore green clothing or purchased green wristbands to publicly recognise the struggle of premature babies and their families.

Over 2,000 wristbands were sold through the L’il Aussie Prems website in four weeks, with international orders from Ireland, United States, United Kingdom and Canada. Wristbands were designed by a group of parents and included messages that were voted for on the website. Sales of wristbands enabled L’il Aussie Prems to donate $2,300 to five charities.

Event organiser and L’il Aussie Prems founder Ms Julia Toivonen said the online attendees and wristband sales far exceeded her expectations.

“We have just over a 1,000 members on our Facebook page so to receive over 19,000 attendees through the Facebook medium is just phenomenal” she said.

“It shows that people are enthusiastic about recognising the issue and social media is allowing the topic to hit mainstream interest.”

A participant of the online Green for Prems event, Michelle of Somerville, Victoria said it was “a time to reflect how far both my premmie boys have come. We brought bands for all of our family members and sent them out in the post so they could proudly wear them. This was a special day for all premmie families.”

The lack of web resources and support available for parents and families of premature babies led Ms Toivonen to launch L’il Aussie Prems online four years ago, after giving birth to her baby thirteen weeks too early.

“Premature babies can develop lung complications, vision and hearing impairments, Sensory Processing Disorder and delayed speech among a range of other developmental complications” Ms Toivonen said.

Parents of premature babies are often in new and unexpected territory and generally have a desire to share their own stories and seek information. The website offers this support to over 1,600 registered users and is not only for families of newborns, but also toddlers who face new challenges as their bodies develop.

National Premmie Week is in November with events being coordinated by the National Premmie Foundation & its member groups to raise awareness about prematurity. Parents and families affected by the challenges and sometimes fatal nature of premature babies who require support or who would like to help support others can visit www.lilaussieprems.com.au