The Vassell family of Brandon, Florida — Amber, Andrew and their children Aliyah, Austin and Avery — are the 2026 March for Babies Tampa Bay ambassador family. Their story moves from long NICU stays at Brandon Hospital to the spotlight at Raymond James Stadium on May 16, where they’ll join the March for Babies walk supported by the March of Dimes. This piece follows their journey, the family creed that drives them, and what they hope to give back to others facing premature birth.
The family lives by a short, bold creed that shapes their days and decisions. They call it “In the Vassells, we excel.” That phrase is less slogan and more a practical promise they repeat when the day gets hard and the stakes get high.
Baby Aliyah is described in the family’s circle as a “NICU miracle.” Born at just 26 weeks and small enough to fit in the palm of a hand, she defied the odds and now lights up the room as a lively 19-month-old. Amber offers a proud, steady description: “She is petite, but she’s mighty,” says her mother Amber Vassell. “She’s growing great. Strong girl. We love her.”
Her arrival came after 153 days in the Brandon Hospital NICU, a stretch that rewired Amber and Andrew’s whole sense of what parenting could demand. That kind of hospital time teaches resilience and a strange fluency with monitors, alarms and schedules that most new parents never need. It also taught the couple how fragile progress can feel and how community matters when the nights are long.
Aliyah’s older brother Austin was born even earlier, at 25 weeks, and his presence in their home is a daily reminder of how far they’ve come. Now five years old and wearing cute glasses, Austin thrives alongside big sister Aliyah and their sibling Avery. The Vassells point to those little victories—first smiles, first steps, school registrations—as proof that early hardship doesn’t have to define a life.
Choosing to be the ambassador family for March for Babies this year grew out of a simple impulse: give back what they once needed. Amber and Andrew know the loneliness and confusion that comes with a NICU stay, and their visibility aims to lift that fog for other families. They want struggling parents to see faces who have walked the same hallways and come out the other side, not to brag but to hand off hope.
For Andrew, the ambassador role feels like an unexpected honor that still catches him off guard. “When you have never been to the NICU, it’s not even a thing on your radar,” Andrew said. “Once you become part of that family, it’s just such a large community. Having the opportunity to represent families that had to go through a similar experience… it’s just an amazing opportunity.” He speaks like someone who has watched fear turn into purpose and now carries that purpose into public work.
Amber frames the family’s public role in spiritual terms, a way of counting life’s toughest chapters as fuel for new meaning. “I just heard God telling me no matter the things you’re going to face, you’re going to count it joy,” Amber said. “Us becoming the ambassador family is just another example of counting it joy.” That perspective has shaped how they parent and how they plan to show up on the walk.
The March for Babies Tampa Bay walk is set for Saturday, May 16, at Raymond James Stadium, with registration opening at 8:00 AM and the walk kicking off at 9:00 AM. The Vassells will be there to greet other families, share their story, and walk in solidarity with anyone touched by preemie birth. Organizers encourage community participation and say that support—whether by walking, donating, or spreading the word—matters to families who spend weeks or months in neonatal care.
As the Vassells prepare to represent Tampa Bay, their message is plain and practical: small beginnings can lead to big lives, and public visibility can translate into real help for the families still in the fight. Their creed, their kids and the long nights at Brandon Hospital are all part of a narrative they now share openly to push others forward. Come May 16 they’ll walk under that stadium sky carrying the hard-won confidence that grows from surviving the NICU and choosing to help the next family through.
