The March of Dimes will host a March for Babies kick-off on Saturday, Feb. 16, at 11 a.m. today at Western Alliance EMS.
Representatives from local companies, family teams and organizations will learn how they can make a difference by supporting the March of Dimes March for Babies. In addition, the 2013 Ambassador Family, the Miller Family, will be present to share their personal story.
March for Babies is the largest annual fundraising event for the March of Dimes, which will celebrate its 75th anniversary in 2013. More than 4 million babies are born in the United States each year and the March of Dimes has helped each and every one of them through research, education, vaccines and breakthroughs.
This year, the Bradford/Sullivan/Tioga Counties March for Babies will held on Saturday, May 11 at Alparon Park in Troy. Families and businesses throughout the area will join together in March for Babies to support the March of Dimes work of helping moms have full-term pregnancies and babies begin healthy lives.
"Participating in March for Babies is an important way to support the cause of healthy babies, especially during the Foundation's milestone 75th anniversary year," said Yasmin Kidwell, March for Babies community director. "Whether you walk to celebrate a baby in your life or to honor one who did not survive, together we can work to prevent premature birth and other infant health problems and look forward to a day when every baby is born healthy and strong."
Babies who are born too soon or sick usually spend weeks or even months in the hospital and they often have to cope with lifelong health problems or disabilities. The emotional costs to families are high and so are the financial costs to families and their employers. More than 20,000 companies big and small partner with the March of Dimes through March for Babies to reduce the burden and help improve the health of babies. Funds raised by March for Babies help support prenatal wellness programs, research grants, neonatal intensive care unit (NICU) family support programs and advocacy efforts for stronger, healthier babies.
Currently, the March of Dimes is investing more than $99 million nationally and $4.5 million in Pennsylvania in research and programs. Babies born in 2013 have a better chance for a long and healthy life than earlier generations, thanks to 75 years of health advances made possible in part by the March of Dimes. They will live longer and are less likely to have a birth defect than babies born 75 years ago. They are also much less likely to die from an infectious disease thanks to widespread use of vaccinations to prevent polio, rubella, measles and other infections.
The March of Dimes was founded in January 1938 by President Franklin D. Roosevelt. A polio sufferer himself, FDR founded the organization to "lead, direct and unify" the fight against polio. Today, about 4 million babies are born in the United States each year and the March of Dimes helps each and every one of them through its history of research, education, vaccines and breakthroughs.
The March for Babies is sponsored nationally by Kmart, Farmers Insurance Group, Macy's, Cigna, Famous Footwear, Sanofi Pasteur, Mission Pharmacal, Watson Pharmaceuticals, First Response and United Airlines. In Bradford, Sullivan and Tioga counties, March for Babies is sponsored by Wiggle 100, Chesapeake Energy, and Global Tungsten & Powders Corp. Geisinger Health System is the March of Dimes Pennsylvania Prematurity Partner.
To join in, visit www.marchforbabies.org, or call (610) 814-7000 to sign up as an individual; to start a corporate, family/friends team; or to donate to help babies be born healthy.
The March of Dimes is the leading nonprofit organization for pregnancy and baby health. With chapters nationwide and its premier event, March for Babies the March of Dimes works to improve the health of babies by preventing birth defects, premature birth and infant mortality. For the latest resources and information, visit www.marchofdimes.com or www.nacersano.org. Find them on Facebook and follow them on Twitter.
Submitted article.
