Events

MARCH to Donate Milk Challenge

The UAMS Milk Bank is excited to launch a friendly competition among our depots for the month of March! We invite each depot to rally your community and see who can bring in:

• The greatest total volume of donated milk
• The highest number of individual donors

We will also award a special prize for the single largest donation by volume.

With NICUs across the state experiencing high census levels, our use of pasteurized donor milk has risen dramatically—and we need more raw milk from more donors to continue meeting the needs of Arkansas’s most vulnerable newborns. Your efforts play a critical role in making sure every medically fragile baby has access to safe, lifesaving donor milk!

Let’s make March a record-breaking month together.  Use your social media platforms to spread the word! Thank you for the amazing work you do and for inspiring donors in your community!

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How Your Depot Can Win the MARCH to Donate Milk Depot Challenge

• Track every donor:
  Keep a simple log of each donor’s name and drop-off date.
• We track the milk volume:
  The UAMS Milk Bank will record total ounces received from each depot.
• Compete in three categories:

• Encourage donors to participate:
  Remind your community that every ounce supports medically fragile babies across Arkansas.
• Win prizes:
  Depot management teams and the donors who help you reach the top will receive prizes!
• Submit your donor logs weekly:
  This ensures accurate, up-to-date counts throughout the competition.

Let the friendly competition begin—and thank you for helping us meet the growing needs of babies across the state!

Mahjong and Mingle for Milk, Feb 16, 2026

Thank you to our generous sponsors for making Mahjong and Mingle for Milk such a memorable and meaningful evening, and heartfelt thanks to everyone who attended and filled the room with energy, camaraderie, and countless rounds of lively Mahjong. Because of your enthusiasm, kindness, and support, we are thrilled to share that together we raised over $12,000 for the UAMS Milk Bank—funds that will directly help us provide safe, lifesaving nutrition to premature and medically fragile infants across Arkansas. We are deeply grateful for your partnership and for the joyful spirit you brought to this wonderful event. Event sponsors included The Mahj Meetup, White River Health, White Insurance Agency, Embodiment Chiropractic, and Murphy USA.

May Donor Day on May 10, 2025

“With Mother’s Day celebrated this weekend, we thought it is excellent timing to host a community event for mothers to make milk donations but also to provide information to the community about the Milk Bank and how we can help support newborns and mothers in Arkansas,” said Misty L. Virmani, M.D., executive medical director of the UAMS Milk Bank, associate professor of pediatrics and neonatology and director of breastfeeding medicine. “Through this event, we also hope to educate people about the vital role that breastfeeding plays in an infant’s early development, which also promotes long-term health.”

Evening of Remembrance – Honoring the gift of love from bereaved families

On the evening of October 23 UAMS Milk Bank recognized Pregnancy and Infant Loss and Awareness Month by hosting families whose child has died but chose to donate the life saving gift of mother’s milk so that other children could thrive. A private ceremony was held where bereaved parents and their loved ones were invited to visit the Milk Bank and the My Love Lives On memorial tree. Families chose a place on the tree to place a leaf engraved with their child’s name and date of birth and received their own leaf to take home with them. They also were able to write notes and their birth story and place pictures in a memory book kept in the Milk Bank to honor these precious angels.