Godfrey LeBron knows what its like to lose a baby - when his wife had a miscarriage. "It was the worst day of my life."

Today, hes part of a team of United Motorcoach Association leaders working to bring dollars for babies, aiding early childhood research and awareness.

Teaming up with the March of Dimes, the association is raising money through two innovative programs that will make the partnership a year-round endeavor. LeBron chairs the UMA board and is co-owner of Paradise Trailways in Hicksville, N.Y.

The initial activity for the hookup between the March of Dimes and UMA is the donation of coaches in 12 communities of UMA board members to support the charitys annual Signature Chefs tasting and auction.

The coaches are being auctioned off for one day of usage, including a driver, fuel and as much as a 500-mile round trip. Some communities are looking at packaging the auctioned buses with features, such as a trip to a day spa or a meal from a top chef.

Stephen Brown, vice president of Brown Coach in New York state and a UMA board member, said the Signature Chefs project in his area is looking at the possibility of creating a "pamper package," with the bus auction and a visit to a day spa and a restaurant.

"Its a smorgasbord of culinary delights," says Rob Lucas, senior vice president of revenue development for the March of Dimes.

"We think Miles for Babies is a great thing, and we look forward to partnering with March of Dimes to make it happen," says Brown. "March of Dimes is a great organization and we believe we need to give back to the community . . . and this is a good opportunity to do so."

In his own community, Brown also underwrites other charities, helps with Rotary Club projects, and has served on the board of his regional March of Dimes chapter.

Ralph Young, chairman of Young Transportation and a UMA board member, is participating in Signature Chefs auction in his hometown of Asheville, N.C. Its a black-tie optional (event) in which a dozen chefs from around town serve up "signature dishes," he says. His donation of a 500-mile round trip, with 10 hours of driving time, has a $2,400 value.

Young likes the fact his company is getting name recognition, as well as giving back to the community. "Its just good P.R.," he says. Young also participates in Special Olympics, church functions and schools.

The Signature Chefs project typically occurs in the fall, varying from community to community.

"This is just a very exciting package where you can use (a bus) to go to a (football or basketball) game with 50 of your friends or go to a casino. Some are having chefs donate food. Thats the beauty of all this. The base package is the motorcoach, the driver and the fuel, but when we link the motorcoach operator with our chapter, then we can put a creative spin on this thing," says Lucas.

"The feedback were getting from the operators is very positive; were getting reconnected with communities," says Ken Presley, vice president of industry relations for UMA.

Miles for Babies

Another program being developed for motorcoach operators, called Miles for Babies, will allow UMA members to give back to their communities by donating 10 cents for every mile driven in a single day. The hope is to include employees, vendors and clients in the endeavor, driving up the amount of money raised.

The Miles for Babies campaign, which is targeted for kick off in September, will be officially unveiled at UMA Motorcoach Expo next month in Orlando.

The March of Dimes will have a booth, where attendees can pick up packets, which will include decals that marries the UMA and March of Dimes logos. Operators can place the decals on their buses and use the logo for local advertising.

A fill-in-the-blanks press release will be included in the package, which operators can complete and send to local media. Also, the March of Dimes websites can be linked with operators sites.

"The nice thing about this is that the operator gets to take advantage of the expertise of the promotions department at March of Dimes," says Presley.

"Its a grassroots day. Its exciting and its new and its different," says Lucas.

"The Miles for Babies concept will lead a small industry to a lot of exposure," says LeBron. He wants to see clients, vendors, employees all get behind it. "You might have a bus cleaner donate $5 for one day."

While the amount is not central to the project, he has hopes that the industry could raise close to $1 million. "Its about generating a lot of excitement. We want to see the community involved. If we do it that way, I would hope that we could get ($1 million)," says LeBron.

"There are two goals in this: Help a worthwhile charity; and allow the operator a venue for better connecting with his community," says Presley. "What were doing is aligning the individual and the UMA members with a national charity for a really and truthfully yearlong promotion that culminates into two events.

"The genesis of this was to cast the companies in a favorable light. (March of Dimes structure of local chapters) gives operators an opportunity to really connect with community and political leaders," adds Presley.

The relationship with UMA operators and the charity was solidified last year when LeBron donated a bus that was configured with studios where babies stories could be gathered in a cross-country tour. Called Every Baby Has a Story, it was aligned with the March of Dimes Prematurity Awareness Month, which is an attempt to educate families to the risks of birth defects because of premature births.

The goal for Every Baby Has a Story, according to LeBron, was to tell the stories of healthy babies as well as babies who were ill. Farmers Insurance donated two story pods.

"Its such a problem in this country," says Lucas of premature births.

In the U.S., one in eight is born prematurely. That translates into 540,000 babies who are born each year after less than 37 weeks of gestation. Its the leading cause of death in the first month, costs $26 billion in health-care expenditures, and premature births can cause blindness, deafness and mental retardation.

The impetus for the partnership between the charity and UMA was that there was a perception, "that we werent part of the community," says LeBron.

"The beauty was we were able to take a small industry and put it with some heavy hitters," says LeBron. "What can our industry do to get a national charity. ... Youve got to be very careful; you dont want to offend anybody. Who has a problem with babies? No one.

"So, we thought it was a pretty good fit. We wanted something that was inclusive. March of Dimes is a unique organization its chapter driven."

The 70-year-old charity has 230 community offices across the country, says Lucas.

Lucas is intrigued by the multi-generational aspect of motorcoach businesses across the country. "Our mission is in great alignment with this industry, with families and babies and multigenerational operators. We really would like to get a compelling cause platform that all (UMA) members can participate in."