WHAT & WHO
The March of Dimes will host a reception marking the pink-and-blue lighting of the Denver City & County Building clock tower. The tower is lighted all month in honor of prematurity awareness. More than 60 of the organization’s supporters are expected to attend (many of whom are families who have experienced the challenge of a premature birth). All attendees will receive a pink or blue glow stick, a piece of the light to take home with them.

The event will feature James L. McManaman, PhD. Dr. McManaman is a scientist at the University of Colorado at Denver and Health Sciences Center. He was recently awarded a $360,000 March of Dimes research grant, the largest ever distributed by the organization in Colorado. He is investigating ways to predict (and thereby perhaps prevent) premature birth.

Dr. McManaman will turn on the lights on Saturday night and be joined in this honorary endeavor by the March of Dimes 2007 Denver Ambassador Family (Alexsandra and Dan Lemke and their son, Austin, who was born 15 weeks prematurely in March 2004). Dr. McManaman will also deliver a call-to-action to the crowd: urge federal lawmakers to dedicate more research funding to prematurity. Although the leading killer of babies, premature birth is among the lowest-funded areas of scientific study. Each case represents just $100 in federal research spending through the National Institutes of Health.

WHEN
Saturday, April 14, 2007
7:00 p.m./Crowd gathers
7:20 p.m./Program begins
7:30 p.m./Lights go on

WHERE
The steps of the east side of the Denver City & County Building (at 1437 Bannock Street).

WHY
To mark and celebrate the Denver City & County Building clock tower lighting. The lighting, in turn, is meant to raise awareness of the crisis of premature birth, the efforts of many to arrest it and the steps anyone can take to help fight it. The month-long awareness initiative culminates on Saturday, April 28, 2007, at Civic Center Park, where the March of Dimes will host WalkAmerica, its largest annual fundraising event.

SOME FACTS AND FIGURES MOST COLORADANS MIGHT NOT KNOW ABOUT PREMATURE BIRTH
- It’s common, affecting one in eight babies each year (including nearly 8,500 in Colorado).
- It’s increased 30 percent since 1981.
- More than half the time, its causes aren’t known.
- It’s the leading cause of lifelong disability (for babies who survive).
- It costs the nation’s healthcare system around $16 billion per year (just in initial hospital stays).

THE MARCH OF DIMES
The March of Dimes is a nonprofit organization dedicated to improving the health of babies by preventing birth defects, premature birth and infant mortality. The organization funds research, community services, education and advocacy.

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Media contact
Becky Herlinger    
(303) 692-0011    
bherlinger@marchofdimes.com