Be a Changemaker: How Healthy Birth Day’s Annual Luncheon Improves Birth Outcomes for Moms and Babies

The Changemakers Luncheon has become one of the most sought-after spring events in Greater Des Moines (DSM). As the Communications Director for Healthy Birth Day, Inc., host of the annual event, this has become one of my favorite days of the year.

It’s incredible to watch as Changemakers from Des Moines and around the country meet to celebrate the impact of our work to save babies through the Count the Kicks stillbirth prevention program. Each April, more than 1,000 Changemakers gather in the Grand Ballroom at the Iowa Events Center (and virtually from around the globe) to raise critical funds and awareness to accelerate progress on stillbirth prevention in Iowa and beyond.

The name of the luncheon was inspired by people like you. YOU are the innovators, thinkers and social pioneers who are taking action to solve problems and social issues. This event is an opportunity to celebrate all the amazing things that our ambassadors, champions, donors, partners, supporters and volunteers are doing to move the needle on stillbirth prevention.

 

The Changemakers Luncheon shows what can happen when a group of people passionately believe in a cause and channel their efforts into improving outcomes for families. The event started in 2015 as the Every Woman Counts Luncheon, with the goal of raising funds to help spread Count the Kicks education across the country. Now in its 11th year, the event has raised more than $2 million to accelerate progress on our mission to prevent stillbirths through education, advocacy and research.

Why You Should Attend the 2025 Changemakers Luncheon

Here are five reasons you should make plans to join us for the Changemakers Luncheon on Tuesday, April 22, 2025:

1. Special Guest Melissa Radke is guaranteed to make you laugh.

By popular demand, author, speaker and TV personality Melissa Radke is returning as the special guest for this year's event. She is the hilarious speaker that we all know and love from our 2018 luncheon and the author of the national best-selling book “Eat Cake. Be Brave.”

Melissa will share her funny and candid insights on life, love and the complexities of the modern world. Known as the HGIC — Head Girlfriend in Charge — Melissa has been cheering women on by sharing tips on what to buy, what to wear, how to LAUGH and how to do your hair. She has built an online community of 1.1 million followers.

Her new book, “Chicken Fried Women,” comes out on the same day as this year’s event! Changemakers Luncheon attendees can purchase a book to be signed by Melissa and take a photo with her after the event.

2. It’s a chance to honor loved and missed babies alongside Chairwoman Stephanie Wright Hart.

In addition to celebrating the impact of our mission and the babies saved by the Count the Kicks program, the Changemakers Luncheon is an opportunity for families who have been impacted by the tragedy of loss to honor and remember their babies.

One of those families is Stephanie Wright Hart and her husband Scott. Stephanie is serving as this year’s event Chairwoman. Stephanie and Scott live in West Des Moines and keep busy with their 16-year-old daughter Mera,a sophomore at Valley High School who plays competitive softball, and their goldendoodle, Bailey. Stephanie sells residential real estate for Re/Max Precision and Scott owns Discount Dumpsters.

In August of 2007, their son Ryder was born still at 29 weeks. Within a week they met Tiffan Yamen, one of the founders of Healthy Birth Day, Inc., and they have been active supporters of our mission ever since. Stephanie has attended the Changemakers event every year and is also a longtime table captain. As this year’s Chairwoman, Stephanie has committed to raising $25,000 to support our mission.

3. You can learn how our organization is leading stillbirth prevention efforts in the U.S.

Healthy Birth Day, Inc. was founded by five Iowa women determined to make the world a safer place to have a baby. After each lost a daughter to stillbirth or infant death, they were connected to each other through friends and their faith communities. With time they decided to channel their grief into action to prevent other families from experiencing the tragedy of stillbirth.

Our Founders believed that stillbirth and poor birth outcomes can be prevented. They believed that when we make the world a safer place to have a baby, everyone wins.

They created the Count the Kicks stillbirth prevention program, and established Healthy Birth Day, Inc. to oversee the expansion and implementation of this life-saving program across the country.

Today our vision is to replicate the success of the highly effective Count the Kicks program in all 50 states. We hope to reduce America’s stillbirth by 32% as we have done in Iowa, which would save more than 6,000 babies from preventable stillbirth every year.

The Changemakers Luncheon is an opportunity to learn more about our work as the leading stillbirth prevention organization in the U.S. Join us on Tuesday, April 22, 2025 to find out how we are accelerating progress towards meaningful, sustainable and systemic change that will lead to a world where stillbirth is a maternal health tragedy of the past.

4. Guests also have a chance to win fabulous prizes.

Changemakers Luncheon attendees have several fun opportunities to support our mission while earning a chance to win fabulous prizes and packages.

Our most popular raffle is the Josephs Jewelers Gold Box Giveaway! For the third year in a row, guests can arrive early to purchase one of 100 gold boxes. One of those boxes contains a piece of jewelry from Josephs that is valued at more than $1,500! Everyone will open their boxes at the same time during the luncheon to see who the lucky winner is!

New this year is the Coachlight Clinic & Spa raffle to win a day at their spa! Tickets are $20 each, and every ticket gets you one entry into the drawing for a day at the spa. Coachlight is also bringing back a guest favorite — the Selfie Station!

We also have a Changemakers mobile auction that includes Taylor Swift and popular athlete memorabilia, designer jewelry, destination packages, weekend adventures and much, much more! The mobile auction is open to anyone and opens Thursday, April 17, 2025. You don’t have to be registered for the event to bid on prizes.

5. When you join us and become a Changemaker, you save lives.

There’s no doubt this event, and the support of Changemakers like you, accelerates progress on stillbirth prevention. It also saves lives.

Just last year we heard from Hannah, a Central Iowa mom who learned about Count the Kicks from Changemakers Luncheon sponsor Mid Iowa Fertility before she was even pregnant. She eagerly downloaded the app and was diligent about using it every day once she got pregnant and reached her third trimester with son Samuel.

She told us Count the Kicks helped her get to know Samuel’s normal movement patterns and empowered her to continue speaking up when she had concerns about a decrease in his movements. This ultimately led to Samuel’s safe arrival at MercyOne Des Moines last summer.

“I’m so grateful I paid attention to kicks and my body’s normal. It probably saved his life and is the only reason why I have a healthy son now. Listen to your body, as you are the one who knows it best. Don’t be afraid to ‘bother’ someone at the clinic or about the cost of a visit. Get up and go! It could save your baby’s life.” – Hannah C., Samuel’s mom

Partners like our Presenting sponsor, MercyOne and Advocate sponsor Mid-Iowa Fertility (plus so many others) are not only supporting our mission by providing financial support, but they are also committed to sharing Count the Kicks education and resources with expectant parents in our community. With their help and support, more babies like Samuel arrive safely.

Guests, donors and sponsors of the Changemakers Luncheon have the opportunity to get involved in our mission, to become champions of our cause, and to help more babies like Samuel have a healthy birth day. It’s hard to think of a better way to spend a spring day than supporting a mission that saves lives.

See a recap of the 2025 Changemakers Luncheon below:

 

Everything You Need to Know

Tickets and tables for this year’s event are on sale now. Sponsorship opportunities are also available. All proceeds from the Changemakers Luncheon support our mission to improve birth outcomes through Count the Kicks.

Registration

Register before Midnight on Tuesday, March 11, 2025 to take advantage of the early bird special, which saves $10 on your ticket or $100 on a table. Starting Wednesday, March 12, 2025 tickets will increase to $85 per ticket and $850 per table. We also have virtual registration and the option to host a watch party from anywhere! We hope to see you there!

 

11th Annual Changemakers Luncheon

• Date: Tuesday, April 22, 2025
• Time: Doors open: 10:45 a.m.; Program: 11:30 a.m.-1 p.m.
• Registration:
  • Early Bird: $75 per ticket | $750 per table
  • Starting Wednesday, March 12, 2025: $85 per ticket | $850 per table
  • Virtual: $45 per ticket | $400 per watch party

The Greater Des Moines Partnership calendar of events is a one-stop resource for activities taking place throughout the region. Find networking information for Greater Des Moines (DSM) businesses, including Chamber luncheons, roundtables and ribbon cuttings. You can also find live music happening each week thanks to the “Live Music This Week in DSM” blog series.