Frequently Asked Questions

Teams, Fundraisers & RunSignUp

• I Don't Want to be Part of a Team or Fundraiser. Can I Still Participate?

• Is everyone signed up also eligible for the door prize? how do you know who’s in need & who’s just there to support the cause? And does creating a team give you more eligibility chances?

• How do I create a Fundraiser?

• What's the difference between a team fundraiser & an individual fundraiser?

• How do I create a Participation team?

• Can someone help me setup my team & fundraiser?

Registration, Tickets & Donations

• Does my ticket go into all of the drawings? How does that work?

• I want more tickets for the door prize drawings! What do I do? Can I register myself over and over?

• My husband and I only want to do IVF through Fertility Clinic X, not Fertility Clinic Y. Can we use all our tickets for just Clinic X?

• It looks like I’m going to have hundreds of tickets. While that’s exciting, I’m freaking out about putting my name on all of them. What do I do?

• How do donations work?

• I prefer to register/donate using a check or money order. Can I do that?

• Someone accidentally donated instead of registering for my team. Can you help?

• Where does my donation go?

• I’m confused about my ticket total. I’ve raised $350 & have two registrations. Why do I only have 12 tickets? Shouldn't I have 16?

• Do I have to register my child?

Packet Pickup

• When do I pick up my tickets and shirt?

• Can you mail me my shirt, mug, or sign?

• I'm a team captain. How do I get my team members' tickets?

Day of the Event

• Can I bring a tent for my team?

• what happens if someone’s name is pulled for multiple drawings?

• I won! can I give my door prize to someone else?

I Don't Want to be Part of a Team or Fundraiser. Can I Still Participate?

The vast majority of participants either form a team or join someone else's. Also, inviting loved ones to support your infertility journey via Baby Steps is a great way to "out" yourself. But yes, you can absolutely participate "solo."

Is everyone signed up also eligible for the door prize? how do you know who’s in need & who’s just there to support the cause? And does creating a team give you more eligibility chances?

Each ticket goes into the barrel for the drawing. However, people who have joined a team automatically surrender their ticket to their team captain. At packet pickup, the captain gets her own ticket plus the tickets of all her team members. The captain then puts her name & contact info on the ticket (or prints labels in advance) for the drawing. This ensures that only people who want to win are actually in the drawing.

So yes, forming a team can dramatically affect how many tickets you have in the drawing.

Historically, nearly all of our participants have formed a team or joined someone else’s. 

How do I create a Fundraiser?

What's the difference between a team fundraiser & an individual fundraiser?

Baby Steps only uses team fundraisers. Runsignup will likely force you to create an individual fundraiser. If it does, we will delete it for you and assign any existing donations to your team fundraiser.

How do I create a participation team?

Can someone help me setup my team & fundraiser?

Yes! Email us at babysteps@sarahs-laughter.com.

Does my ticket go into all of the drawings? How does that work?

To ensure that you get every possible opportunity for each door prize, each ticket number, whether acquired via registrations or donations, will be duplicated in a different color to correspond with the number of barrels for our door prizes.

For example, at the 2017 NOLA Fun Run, two different clinics—Audubon & FINO—each gave away IVFs. So, we had a Sarah’s Laughter barrel for the $10,000 grant, a FINO barrel for their IVFs, and an Audubon barrel for their IVF. Accordingly, we had distinct color-coded tickets for each barrel. So, in this example, each ticket number was represented by three physical tickets: each a different color, for a different barrel, yet all with the same ticket number.

So, let's say you ended up with 100 tickets via registrations and donations. You would not be forced to divide your 100 tickets among the different barrels representing different door prizes. You would get 100 tickets in color A for barrel A, another 100 tickets in color B for barrel B, etc.

That's a lot of tickets on which to write your name and contact info. (A good problem to have, right?) We strongly recommend using labels.

I want more tickets for the door prize drawings! What do I do? Can I register myself over and over?

It is not unusual for captains to donate to their own team; that would be preferable to registering over and over. Ideally, we’d prefer that no one does Baby Steps alone; infertility is isolating enough. If you form a team and reach out to friends and family to walk or run with you—especially if by doing so you “out” yourself as someone struggling with infertility—you might be pleasantly surprised at how many say yes. You would feel their support at the event and would benefit from their registrations, as well. (Captains automatically get all the tickets of their team members.) And remember, for every $350 donated, your team fundraiser will get 10 tickets.

My husband and I only want to do IVF through Fertility Clinic X, not Fertility Clinic Y. Can we use all our tickets for just Clinic X?

In this scenario, there are separate barrels for Clinic X, for Clinic Y, and for Sarah's Laughter. Each registration will get three different color-coded tickets, one for each barrel.

So, let's say the number of "all" of your tickets (via registration and donation) is 100. You will get 100 Clinic X tickets. You will also get 100 Clinic Y tickets and 100 Sarah's Laughter tickets. You can choose, of course, not to use any of your tickets. We say the tickets are transferable but the prizes are not, and here's how this could benefit your scenario.

Historically, people swap and/or give away blank tickets to maximize their chances. For example, let's say you have a friend that's only interested in adoption. She would give you her (blank) IVF tickets and you would give her your (blank) grant tickets. Certainly you could also do this with specific clinics. Once a ticket is completed with name & contact info, however, it is no longer transferable. If you absolutely love Clinic X and would never leave it for Clinic Y, even if you win, then there's no reason to submit your tickets for Clinic Y's drawings.

Ultimately, we just want to give away as much stuff as we can in the most equitable and appropriate way we can think of.

It looks like I’m going to have hundreds of tickets. While that’s exciting, I’m freaking out about putting my name on all of them. What do I do?

We strongly recommend printing the following information on Avery 5160 labels:

• Name

• Address

• Email

• Phone

You can design and print your label at avery.com for free.

How do donations work?

Many people show support via donation when they know they will not be able to actually do the walk/fun run with you. For every $350 donated, your team fundraiser will get 10 tickets. This is applies to the sum of all your donations. At least $350 in donations: 10 tickets; $700: 20 tickets; $1050: 30 tickets; and so on.

I prefer to register/donate using a check or money order. Can I do that?

Yes, as long as we receive it by the online registration & donation deadline, as that's when we calculate the final ticket totals for each team.

Please make your check payable to "Sarah's Laughter" and mail it to:

Sarah's Laughter Resource Center
4917 South Sherwood Forest Blvd
Second Floor
Baton Rouge, LA  70816

For registrations, please include your:

• Name
• Address
• Email
• Phone Number
• Date of Birth
• Shirt Size (if you want one)

Someone accidentally donated instead of registering for my team. Can you help?

Yes. We can change this for you. First, email us to let us know who did what.

Second, because it’s a donation and the other party would otherwise get a tax receipt, we need the request to come directly from them. So have each person who accidentally donated instead of registering email us a request with the following info:

• Name
• Address
• Email
• Phone Number
• Date of Birth
• Shirt Size (if they want one)

Where does my donation go?

All donations go to Sarah's Laughter (EIN 26-0380280), a 501(c)(3) nonprofit public charity dedicated to serving the infertile community. All donations are tax-deductible.

Donations help fund Baby Steps and its door prizes, plus support groups online and in person in California, Florida, Louisiana, New York, and Texas, an infertility podcast, memorial services to honor the lives of stillborn and miscarried babies, and the day-to-day operations of Sarah's Laughter.

I’m confused about my ticket total. I’ve raised $490 & have two registrations. Why do I only have 12 tickets? Shouldn't I have 16?

There are two ways to accumulate tickets: registration and donations.

Registration

Each registration = one ticket. 1 registration: 1 ticket. 101 registrations: 101 tickets.

Donations

Earning tickets via donations is a $350 to 10 ticket formula. This does not reduce; tickets are only earned in blocks of 10. This applies for every increment of $350 in donations. So, if you’ve raised $350 in donations, you get 10 extra tickets at packet pickup for each barrel. At $700: 20; at $1050: 30; and so on.

Do I have to register my child?

The only reason to register your child would be to get another ticket for the drawing.

When do I pick up my tickets and shirt?

Packet Pickup is the day before the event AND the morning of the event. Please check your specific Baby Steps event page for location and schedules.

If you are part of a team, you do not need to go to packet pickup. You will get your shirt from your captain.

If you are a captain, you will get all of your team members' tickets and shirts, plus a team roster with the shirt size of each team member. Team members will come to you on the event day for their shirt.

Can you mail me my shirt, mug, or sign?

If you are referring to the shirt included with registration:

Shirts are not shipped and we do not keep a supply of them after the race.

If you are part of a team and are unable to attend Baby Steps, your captain will still have your shirt.

If you purchased an additional shirt, mug or sign:

The cost of shipping is not factored into the cost of your purchase. Please contact us to make arrangements, such as:

• Sarah's Laughter refunding your purchase (mugs and shirts only).
• You picking up your purchase at our Support Center in Baton Rouge, LA.
• You providing us with a shipping address and covering the cost of shipping and handling (shirts only).
• We do not ship mugs. We will issue you a refund if you cannot pick it up at our Support Center.
• We do not ship signs. Because customized signs cannot be re-used, we are unable to offer refunds. We will work with you to arrange a pickup at our Support Center, yet we do not have the space to keep unclaimed purchases indefinitely. Thank you for understanding.

I'm a team captain. How do I get my team members' tickets?

All of your team members' tickets are automatically assigned to you as captain. You will get all the tickets at packet pickup with a detailed printout and roster.

Can I bring a tent for my team?

If you are a team captain, you can reserve a 10' x 10' space for a tent for your team. Space is limited, and reservations are "first come, first served." Please see your specific event page for a reservation link.

What happens if someone's name is pulled for multiple drawings?

Here’s what we do.

• Each person can win only one door prize. 
• We draw the biggest prizes first (IVF, $10,000 grant, etc.) but announce them last. (Notice the volunteer on stage with hands pressed close together desperately trying NOT to make eye contact with anyone.)
• If someone has already won a door prize and their name is drawn again, we discard that ticket and draw again to give someone else a chance.

I won! Can I give my door prize to someone else?

Although tickets are transferable, door prizes are not. Whatever name is on the ticket and called out at Baby Steps, that person alone can claim the corresponding door prize.