For America's Babies...With Love, From Hallmark
Welcome, Little One
The world is one baby sweeter now.
Keeping your little one healthy means starting immunizations by two months of age. Congratulations, and remember to get those shots!
So reads the sentiment in Hallmark's For America's Babies cards, being mailed to millions of parents by their state governors every year to welcome new babies with a message of congratulations. But "congratulations" isn't the only message these cards deliver. Even more importantly, they deliver a message of hope for America's babies -- the hope that all babies will grow up happy and healthy. There is no better way to fulfill that hope than by immunizing children against serious illness. So these cards For America's Babies also include a message of encouragement and education from state governors to remind parents of the importance of childhood immunizations. With removable immunization and growth charts, parents have a convenient record to take along to doctor visits. 2005 marked the 10-year anniversary of Hallmark's program to contribute these immunization cards as part of its commitment to America's Promise, and its commitment to healthy children. It's a promise that America's babies need us to keep. Our 79 percent immunization rate leaves more than 750,000 U.S. children under two years old vulnerable to preventable diseases. And with more than 10,000 babies born every day in our country, Americans face a serious challenge in fulfilling a promise to provide all children with the immunizations they need. For America's Babies was developed in response to that challenge. The program had its own beginnings in 1995, when a Kansas City child advocacy organization approached Hallmark with an idea for increasing the childhood immunization rate in Missouri. They proposed that Hallmark design a baby "congratulations" card with an immunization record and a personal message about the importance of immunization from late Missouri Governor Mel Carnahan and his wife, Jean. The cards were distributed to parents of children born in Missouri that year. From the volume of cards, letters and pictures appearing in Governor Carnahan's office that year, it was clear that the card was having a positive impact on new parents. The program expanded in 1996 to include Kansas, where success rates also showed positive results. Based on the success of these two states, and interest expressed by other governors, Hallmark made a commitment to donate cards to all interested states and territories. That commitment now extends through 2010. Thirty-six states and territories participated in the program in 2005, reaching the parents of about three million children born during the year. Hallmark considers it a privilege to assist in protecting the health of our nation's youngest citizens through this partnership with our state governors. Because if it's good for America's babies...it's good for America.
Related Links More About Hallmark in the Community More Ideas for Babies Learn About Immunization Requirements by State
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