Dancing for Our Stars Presenting Sponsor, FreeConferenceCall.com, Supports Health Care Needs of Women at the MemorialCare Center for Women at Miller Children’s By Donating $25,000

Dave Erickson, has lived and worked in Long Beach for more than 20 years. He owns FreeConferenceCall.com, an independent and leading provider of collaborative communications solutions. Dave and his wife, Su, had been long-time supporters of children’s causes in the greater Long Beach community and they had always known that Miller Children’s had an excellent reputation as a leading children’s hospital, but they wanted to see for themselves. The Erickson’s neighbor happens to be on the Miller Children’s board and offered to set-up a tour of Miller Children’s for them.

After meeting with Mel Marks, M.D., executive vice president of research, Miller Children’s, Dave and Su were very impressed with the hospital and the quality of care that it provided in the community.

“Giving back to the Long Beach community has always been important to us,” says Dave. “And I never want to see a child turned away from receiving care.”

This tour and subsequent visits helped the Erickson’s decision to become supporters of Miller Children’s. Since their initial visit, the Ericksons have supported the “giveLife” initiative, which is a fundraising campaign for the MemorialCare Center for Women. Also Dave’s company, FreeConferenceCall.com, was a presenting sponsor of the recent Dancing for Our Stars gala, which directly benefited the Center for Women through a brand new high-risk pregnancy unit.

The “giveLife” campaign and the Dancing for Our Stars gala will help fund a new perinatal special care unit that has nine private patients rooms and one semi-private room all designed for high-risk pregnancies, a new welcome center and waiting area, a new fetal diagnostics room, an expanded postpartum unit, a renovated newborn nursery and capital equipment including ultrasound machines and a video laproscopy tower.

“At a certain point in our lives, we were having difficulties having a child of our own, so we wanted to help other mothers have healthy babies,” says Dave. “Much to our astonishment, we ended up having a child of our own. Kids are cool and giving back to help their future is what the fun in life is all about.”