| East Hartford, CT – Fourteen children from throughout Connecticut have been selected to represent the March of Dimes Connecticut Chapter as Ambassadors during 2004. As ambassadors, the families will share their stories so that volunteers and sponsors will understand how participating in WalkAmerica helps the March of Dimes to fight premature birth and its lifelong consequences. The following families will serve in their respective hometown areas:
*Eight year-old Matthew Anastasio of North Branford with his parents Joseph and Laura
*Four year-old twins Gabrielle and David Coderre of Putnam with their parents David and Pamela
*Nicholas Gelsomino of New Milford with his parents Jason and Tanya
*Two year-old Alyssa Hackley of Branford with her parents Richard and Michele
*Two year-old twins Hannah and Katie Kingsley of Marlborough with their parents Bert and Christina
*Two and a half year-old Dylan Kinsella of New Britain with his parents Bill and Dorothy
*Two and a half-year old Dylan Mallinson of West Hartford with his parents Eric and Kathy
*Thirteen month-old twins Alexandria and Emerson Manville with their parents Chris and Lisa
*Two year-old triplets Zachary, Dylan and Katie Schrempp of Clinton with their mom Tammy
The families understand the importance of the March of Dimes mission. All of the ambassador children were born premature, some weighing as small as 1 pound 5 ounces. Many had to fight for their lives. They spent days, even months, in neonatal intensive care units receiving specialized care for premature newborns. Today, due to March of Dimes-funded advancements in the treatment of premature babies, such as NICUs and surfactant, the children are happy and healthy.
The families will be leading the way in WalkAmerica, the March of Dimes biggest and best known fund-raising event, at various locations on April 24 and 25 (May 2 in Hartford) to raise money to support research and programs to find the causes of premature birth. To register and for more information, please call the March of Dimes at 1-800-446-WALK or log on to www.walkamerica.org.
WalkAmerica is made possible by the generous support of both walkers and sponsors. Connecticut statewide sponsors are CIGNA, Bob’s Discount Furniture and NBC30 Connecticut News. National WalkAmerica sponsors are Kmart, CIGNA, Famous Footwear, and Discovery Health Channel.
The March of Dimes is a national voluntary health agency whose mission is to improve the health of babies by preventing birth defects and infant mortality. Founded in 1938, the March of Dimes funds programs of research, community services, education, and advocacy to save babies and in 2003 launched a five-year campaign to address the increasing rate of premature birth. For more information, visit the March of Dimes Web site at www.marchofdimes.com, its Spanish Web site at www.nacersano.org, or call
1-888-MODIMES.
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