8-Year-Old Dallas Twins Design Race Car for March for Babies®

Latin America - español

News provided by

Apr 08, 2011, 04:56 ET

DALLAS, April 8, 2011 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- An unlikely pair of race car designers has chosen the design for the special FedEx/March for Babies #11 Toyota to be featured in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Race to be held April 9 at Texas Motor Speedway here.

Jake and Josh Aron, 8-year-old twin boys born prematurely, met Denny Hamlin, the driver of #11, at the Joe Gibbs Racing facility in Charlotte, North Carolina in March to determine the special paint scheme for the car. The boys and their family will be present at the Texas track in their hometown on April 9 as they hope to see Denny earn his third victory in this race.

The car raises awareness for the March of Dimes mission to improve the health of babies, as well as for the 2011 March for Babies, the fundraising event to help moms have healthy pregnancies and full-term babies, which takes place nationwide the last weekend of April in more than 900 communities.

See a video with Denny Hamlin about the boys' paint scheme for the car on at: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yj6a-S_R0gc and http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vuF5JoC1IoQ

Jake and Josh are the sons of Jaime and Lori Aron. The boys were delivered almost four months prematurely during an emergency Cesarean section in 2002. Each weighed 18 ounces -- less than some vending-machine soda bottles. Their brains, lungs, eyes and ears were all underdeveloped due to their early birth. On their third day, Josh had an operation on his heart, a relatively common procedure made far more challenging by his tiny size. Jake also endured bowel surgery and several other procedures during the twins' lengthy stay in the newborn intensive care unit of the hospital. Jaime and Lori Aron credit the boys' survival to March of Dimes-funded treatments and the specialized medical care they received.

Today, Jake is a budding musician and Josh is an artist. Other than some scars, they are typical thriving youngsters. Their personalities are completely opposite -- Jake's an extrovert, Josh an introvert -- but both love video games, sports and fooling around with their big brother Zachary. The twins serve as the 2011 special ambassadors for the Texas chapter of the March of Dimes.

"These boys are true miracles and wonderful examples of the work being funded by the March of Dimes," says Jaime Aron. The Aron Family Team, with more than 30 members, has raised more than $40,000 to date in March for Babies. Jaime and Lori Aron have served as co-chairs of the Texas Family Teams Committee.

The March of Dimes is the leading nonprofit organization for pregnancy and baby health. With chapters nationwide and its premier event, March for Babies®, the March of Dimes works to improve the health of babies by preventing birth defects, premature birth and infant mortality. To join an event near you, visit marchforbabies.org. For the latest resources and information, visit marchofdimes.com or nacersano.org. Find us on Facebook and follow us on Twitter.

SOURCE March of Dimes