Area Businesses and Groups Invited to Form Teams and Take Part

DENVER, Colo., Feb. 11, 2004 -- The March of Dimes has launched its annual team recruitment drive for WalkAmerica, it was announced today. Businesses and groups interested in forming teams of walkers to participate are invited to call the March of Dimes at (303) 692-0011 to learn more and to sign up.

WalkAmerica volunteer planners have set a goal of recruiting 250 teams for the event, which will be held on Saturday, April 24 at Civic Center Park and throughout downtown.

 “WalkAmerica is a great event for groups to get involved in, especially companies,” said Rion Groves, Colorado state executive director of Farmers Insurance Group and Denver WalkAmerica chair. (Farmers is also a WalkAmerica sponsor.) “It builds employee morale and enhances a company’s reputation in the community. Plus, because WalkAmerica raises money for research and programs to improve infant health, companies in the long run are helping to lower their insurance costs. It’s a win-win, for babies and for business.”

Groves added that teams of any number and from any type of business are welcome to participate.

Celebrating its 34th anniversary in 2004, WalkAmerica is the nation’s oldest charitable walking event and the largest annual March of Dimes fundraiser. It takes place in 1,400 communities across the country. In addition to Denver, other Colorado communities hosting WalkAmerica events include Boulder, Colorado Springs, Fort Collins/Loveland, Greeley and Pueblo.

Funds raised through WalkAmerica support March of Dimes efforts to improve the health of babies by preventing birth defects and infant mortality. A key March of Dimes initiative is fighting prematurity, the leading cause of newborn death in Colorado and nationwide. The March of Dimes works to achieve its mission through research, community services, education and advocacy.

In addition to Farmers Insurance Group, WalkAmerica sponsors include The Children’s Hospital, CIGNA, the Denver Business Journal, Discovery Health Channel, Famous Footwear, Frontier Airlines, Kmart, Papa John’s Pizza and radio stations KOOL 105, Mix 100 and Jammin 92.5.

The March of Dimes is a national nonprofit health organization founded in 1938.  In Colorado, the March of Dimes currently funds over $2 million in healthy-baby research and programs. For more information, visit the March of Dimes at www.marchofdimes.com (English) and www.nacersano.org (Spanish).

For a JPEG image that complements this news release, please e-mail bherlinger@marchofdimes.com.