Houston Newsmakers for April 29: Tens of thousands Prepare to March For Babies

HOUSTON – It was an awful day. Shannon Alexander went on a routine doctor visit to check on her unborn son in the 38th week of her pregnancy.

“He was gone,” she said. “There was no heartbeat.” Just like that, it was over.

His name would have been Cameron and now Shannon and the Alexander family are preparing to walk in the March for Babies on May 6 as the 2018 Ambassador Family. There is still sadness but they have a great reason to celebrate because a year earlier, Shannon gave birth to Christian who weighed just three pounds when he was born 11 weeks early.

“There’s no rhyme or reason to why these things happen,” Alexander said. “But the March of Dimes came in and they were very comforting. They’re like a family to us.”

Ashley McClellan is the CEO of The Woman’s Hospital of Texas and says the March of Dimes helps them maintain a high level of support with their Neonatal Intensive Care Unit Family Support Program.

“We have a full time employee that’s dedicated through the March of Dimes at our facility to support our families because we take care of so many moms and babies. We want to make sure we have extra resources available to help make a challenging experience as positive as possible.”  

There will be more with Ashley McClellan and Alexander on this week’s Houston Newsmakers with Khambrel Marshall as KPRC gears up to support the 2018 March for Babies at the University of Houston. www.marchforbabies.org 

Japan-Texas Economic Summit Comes to Houston 

Top business leaders from Japan will be in Houston May 7-9 for the Japan-Texas Economic Summit.

Summit Chair Donna Cole, the president and CEO of  Cole Chemical, is a guest on this week’s Houston Newsmakers and says this conference can help any business looking for success.

The conference is for "people who want to grow their business, maybe want a new partner or expand in Japan or people who want to expand in the state of Texas, with Japanese companies or just other Texans.”  

The registration deadline is Monday. Interested? Watch Newsmakers Sunday and visit the organization's site

Houston Community College Helping Hungry Students Succeed 

Joel Philistin is a financial coach at Houston Community College. It was while advising students about finances that he noticed many of them were also short on food.

“If a student doesn’t have the funds to actually pay for food during the semester, it is kind of hard to concentrate in the classroom,” he said. “So that’s where we understood that we had to make that connection within our community to really be able to assist our students.”

Find out what that program is and how to enroll for free food on this week’s Houston Newsmakers with Khambrel Marshall.  

More Information:

  • Ashley McClellan, CEO, The Woman’s Hospital of Texas
    • https://womanshospital.com
    • Phone:713-790-1234
    • Twitter: @TheWomansHospTX
  • Shannon Alexander, Ambassador Family Mom, 2018 March for Babies
    • www.MarchforBabies.org
    • Phone: 888-274-3711 (between 8 a.m. and 8 p.m.)
    • Twitter: @MarchofDimes
  • Donna Cole, President & CEO, Cole Chemical
    • Chair: Japan-Texas Economic Summit
    • https://bit.ly/2r3kkVu
    • Phone: 202-223-6840
    • Twitter: @USJC
  • Joel Philistin, Financial Coach, Houston Community College