Celebrating the Life of Betty Wagner Spandikow, LLLI co-Founder On Sunday, October 26th, La Leche League International co-Founder Betty Wagner Spandikow passed away. Betty was a member of the Board of Directors of La Leche League, and at various times served as Treasurer, Business Manager, and Executive Director, a title she held for 19 years until she retired. She initiated flex hours and a family-friendly workplace in the '60s, long before they became the popular perks they are today. Betty was also co-author of The Womanly Art of Breastfeeding, which has over two million copies in print. Family and friends attended a "Celebration of Life" service in honor of Betty on November 14th at St. Petronille Church in Glen Ellyn, Illinois, USA. In support of the organization that Betty helped found, the family requests donations be made, in lieu of flowers, to La Leche League International, 957 N. Plum Grove Road, Schaumburg, IL, 60173 USA or online at www.llli.org. You may also leave a memorial message for Betty’s family by visiting http://www.llli.org/Betty.html.

Squidoo Supports LLLI through $80,000 Charity Giveaway! Squidoo is a Web site designed to enable anyone to easily set up a free page on a topic he or she cares a lot about, and users have created more than 700,000 pages, or “lenses,” making it one of the 300 most popular Web sites in the United States. Squidoo generates hundreds of thousands of dollars - through advertisements and affiliate links - in annual royalties to charities and Squidoo users! Since its inception in 2005 Squidoo has saved 5% of its income along the way. This led to "The $80,000 Squidoo Charity Giveaway in early October. Squidoo accepted votes - up to 40,000 - for its partner charities in a poll on its Web site and for each vote, $2 was donated to that charity! We are happy to report that La Leche League International received the third highest number of votes at 8%, behind Soldiers Angels (27%) and March of Dimes (19%). This translates to a gift of $6,400 in support of mothers and babies! Thanks to those of you who voted for LLLI; every vote made a difference!

New Mother Packet Project Takes Off Thanks to a generous donation by the Isdell Family Foundation of Atlanta, Georgia, La Leche League International (LLLI) recently sent New Mother Packets to a group of “Baby-Friendly” hospitals in the United States that support breastfeeding. It is our hope that through partnerships with these hospitals, LLLI will become the recommended source for breastfeeding information and support once a mother leaves the hospital. These packets were assembled by two local Girl Scout Troops from Schaumburg, Illinois, USA as one of their service projects. To read more about the LLLI New Mother Packets and other projected projects for 2009, click here.

1. Join iGive.com here - It's free, safe, and easy to join.
2. Shop through iGive.com's online mall and earn money for LLLI!

• The donor must be age 70½ or older
• The cap on annual IRA rollovers is $100,000
• The contribution must be a direct gift to a charity (no planned gifts)

Thank you, Japanese Weekend Maternity! In honor of World Breastfeeding Week during the month of August, Japanese Weekend Maternity donated $930.00 in sales from selected nursing merchandise to La Leche League International. Japanese Weekend Maternity, made in the USA, has designed and carried contemporary, functional and comfortable maternity nursing wear for mothers-to-be since 1982. For details visit www.japaneseweekend.com. We appreciate their support of our mission.

Seasonal Catalog A seasonal catalog has been designed to provide pregnant and breastfeeding mothers with information on the latest books, products, and accessories. As announced in this piece, all orders placed by December 31, 2008 will receive a complimentary bag that proclaims, “Of course I'm for breastfeeding!” Ecologically friendly, this bag is designed to be functional and to promote the mission of La Leche League International. New Information Sheets Two informational sheets have been completely updated and redesigned to provide LLL Leaders and health care professionals with handy reference guides when counseling pregnant and breastfeeding mothers. Is My Breastfed Baby Getting Enough Milk? addresses the commonly asked question by new moms, and includes helpful tips. Introducing Complementary Foods to Your Breastfed Baby provides an overview of when and how to start feeding baby complementary foods, and examples of ideal solids to start with. Limited Time Offer For a limited time, get a copy of the first edition of The Womanly Art of Breastfeeding, originally published in 1958. This loose-leaf style replica makes a great gift for all supporters of breastfeeding. With this treasure, you'll also receive a copy of the first LLL Newsletter, also originally published in 1958. Only 300 numbered copies of this set are available on the LLLI Store!

LLL Catalonia Receives National Prize of Volunteerism UNICEF - LLL Catalonia, Spain has been granted the National Prize of Volunteerism, because of its work with breastfeeding promotion in the community, cooperating with the formation of mothers through the support groups, composed entirely of volunteers and contributing to a cultural change about breastfeeding. Receiving the award was Leader Mònica Tornadijo, and the ceremony was presided over by the royal highness Mrs. Margarita de Borbón, Duchess of Soria and President of the Autonomous Committee of UNICEF - Madrid, on October 3rd, 2008.

Bulgaria: A LLL Leader in Bulgaria recognized the need for more resources for mothers in their native language, so she obtained and translated two LLLI brochures - one about the early days of breastfeeding and the other about breastfeeding and employment. She also found graphic designers to donate their time and work on these projects.

Hong Kong: Leaders in Hong Kong secured a grant from the Matilda Sedan Chair Race Fund to translate and distribute 60,000 copies of the LLLI information pamphlet When You Breastfeed Your Baby to all hospitals in Hong Kong.

New Zealand: New Zealand's Peer Counselor program has been instrumental in getting breastfeeding to be prominently featured in government health targets and priorities. They also secured funding from the Ministry of Health to produce and distribute 100,000 copies of a bilingual English-Te Reo Maori (indigenous language) sheet of the LLLI Breastfeeding Tips.

India: LLL Mumbai received a donation to develop a library of LLLI publications. The funding came from a private donor who heard about the expansion of LLL Groups in the city and wanted to provide a selection of breastfeeding and parenting books to support these Groups and the mothers they serve.

Southern US: In Bristol, TN, LLL Leaders co-sponsored a breastfeeding-friendly Baby Fair with the YWCA, which was attended by 900 parents, expectant parents, grandparents, and children. LLLI publications on specific topics were available and LLL Leaders answered questions that related to breastfeeding and parenting issues for an average of 300 persons.

Eastern US: In Norwich, CT, Leaders held monthly meetings at a local hospital for mothers who were interested in breastfeeding, including a large number of Navy members' wives. These informational meetings were held in the evenings to accommodate employed mothers in need of support and information on working and breastfeeding.

Midwest US: In St. Louis, MO, 45 La Leche League Leaders offered support group meetings for 125 expectant and breastfeeding mothers each month at 20 locations throughout the metro area. Leaders also responded to an average of 210 monthly requests for information via email and the 24-hour telephone hotline and maintained a Web site with links to problem-specific information pages on the LLLI Web site.

Western US: In Bozeman, MT, Leaders educated local business owners on how to promote and support breastfeeding in the workplace for mothers returning to work after having their baby. They certified 22 businesses as “Breastfeeding Friendly.”

Thank you so much for your ongoing support of our mission. If you have questions about the material presented in this newsletter or any other questions for the Development Department, please don't hesitate to contact us. We value your input and involvement in the LLLI community! Holly Stevens Development Director hstevens@llli.org (847) 519-7730, ext. 201 Amy Barker Development Associate abarker@llli.org (847) 519-7730, ext. 240 Pam Oselka Major Gifts Officer poselka@llli.org (847) 519-7730, ext. 257 FDassociate@llli.org reaches all three of us if you're not sure whom to contact.