(Atlanta, Georgia, January 18, 2008)—The March of Dimes Georgia Chapter has awarded eleven grants throughout Georgia that will address unmet maternal and child health needs across the state. “These grants address significant maternal and child health issues such as reducing prematurity rates in local communities, increasing access to prenatal care, and implementing innovative models of prenatal care. All of the grants address unmet needs in Georgia,” said Mary-Margaret Finney, March of Dimes Georgia Chapter Grant Review Committee Chair.
 

These grants are one way the March of Dimes pursues its mission of preventing birth defects, premature birth and infant mortality. 

“We continue to examine and strengthen our community grants program in Georgia to ensure we fund projects that meet the specific needs of our mothers and babies throughout Georgia.  We are excited to award more than $350,000 to eleven agencies for programs ranging from reducing obesity rates among women contemplating pregnancy (a risk factor for poor birth outcomes) to providing pregnant women with the CenteringPregnancy® model of group prenatal care,” Mary-Margaret Finney said. “We are grateful that our successful fundraising efforts, such as WalkAmerica, make it possible for us to support new efforts to help more babies to be born healthy in Georgia,” she said.

- Athens Area Child Abuse Prevention Council ~ $25,000 grant to implement “High Risk Prenatal Project”
-  Athens Regional Foundation ~ $40,000 grant to implement “Taking Prenatal Care to the Hispanic Community: CenteringPregnancy®”
-  Augusta Partnership for Children, Inc. ~ $13,876 grant to implement “Fetal and Infant Mortality Review – Community Action Team”
-  The Berrien County Collaborative, Inc. ~ $45,000 grant to implement “Parents as Teachers”
-  Center for Black Women’s Wellness, Inc. ~ $50,000 grant to implement “Atlanta Healthy Start Initiative”
-  Clayton County Board of Health ~ $40,702 grant to implement “Clayton County Coalition for Healthy Babies, Healthy Moms”
-  Grant Park Clinic ~ $25,000 grant to implement “High Risk Prenatal Program”
-  Houston HealthCare ~ $30,000 grant to implement “Access to Care” 
-  Lowndes County Board of Health ~ $50,000 grant to implement “Baby LUV”
-  Southeast Georgia Health System ~ $25,000 grant to implement “Reducing Disparities in Preterm Births”
-  Zeta Phi Beta Sorority – Kappa Iota Zeta ~ $14,114 grant to implement “Stork’s Nest and Stork’s Nest Blitz” 

The March of Dimes is a national voluntary health agency whose mission is to improve the health of babies by preventing birth defects, premature birth 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 campaign to address the increasing rate of premature birth. For more information, visit the March of Dimes Web site at marchofdimes.com or its Spanish language Web site at nacersano.org.