Chicago –Energized by their common mission to save babies, 1,200 walkers made their way to Naperville's Riverwalk early Sunday morning, April 24th for the 35th annual March of Dimes WalkAmerica. Thousands of others also laced up their walking shoes this weekend at five suburban WalkAmerica locations in Chicago, St. Charles, Highland Park, Schaumburg, and Tinley Park.
At the DuPage County walk site, enthusiastic participants raised $198,000, contributing to the $2 million raised throughout the Chicagoland area. All money raised supports the March of Dimes campaign to prevent birth defects, premature birth and infant mortality. The Annella Family, of LaGrange, proudly led the way, acting as this year's DuPage County Ambassador Family. The Annellas support the March of Dimes' mission to save babies, especially since their twins Nicole and Gianna were born at just 27 weeks gestation. The girls were born on December 5, 2003 at Advocate Good Samaritan Hospital in Downers Grove with Nicole weighing 2 lbs. 2 oz. and Gianna 1 lb. 15 oz.
WalkAmerica is a national event that is the March of Dimes leading source of revenue. It has raised more than $1 billion for healthy babies since it began in 1970. This year's WalkAmerica will help support research and education for the National Prematurity Campaign. Each year more than 480,000 babies are born premature and prematurity is the leading cause of death in the first month of life. Ninety-two cents of every dollar raised in Illinois goes into research as well as education, advocacy and community service programs to help all babies have a healthy start in life. 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 campaign to address the increasing rate of premature birth.
WalkAmerica's DuPage site sponsor is Advocate Good Samaritan Hospital. Local sponsors include Harris Bank, Nicor, TCF Bank, and Wal-Mart. Local Chicagoland sponsors include Absopure, Careerbuilder.com, Citibank, LaSalle Bank Corporation, Marsh/Mercer, NBC5, and Northwestern Memorial Hospital. National sponsors include CIGNA, Kmart, Discovery Health Channel, FedEx, Prevention Magazine, Farmers Insurance, Mead Johnson, and Famous Footwear.
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