IMMEDIATE RELEASE REQUESTED

Contact: Tim Arndt, Sr. State Director of Communications and Marketing at 1-800-844-9255 and 317-262-4668 and tarndt@marchofdimes.com

March of Dimes to Honor Premature Babies and Remember Those Who Were Lost to Prematurity with Prematurity Roll Call Events in 24 Indiana Cities and Towns

Ceremony to honor the little miracles that survived prematurity and to remember the victims who lost their fight to survive their premature birth.

(Indianapolis, IN, October 20, 2006)  Starting October 27th March of Dimes volunteers will be conducting a Prematurity Roll Call and candlelight vigils for children in 24 Indiana communities who were born too soon and too small.

The Prematurity Roll Call includes reading the names and birth dates of children born prematurely.  When each name is read a candle will be lit and a slide will be flashed on a large screen at the front of the room including the name and birth date of the baby. 

The Roll Call will include a picture of the child in the NICU as well as a picture of the children if they survived, today.   They will also honor those babies lost to prematurity by naming them with their birth date and day they were lost. 

“The Prematurity Roll Call helps bring awareness to this infant health crisis,” says Tim Arndt, March of Dimes.  “Unless you’ve spent time in a neonatal intensive care unit you may not understand the struggle, the fight these newborns have to endure.  Needles and machines and months of intensive care and sometimes surgeries await most premature babies.  Prematurity is a major reason why babies are born sick and suffer disabilities.  Worse yet, it is a fight that many babies lose.  Prematurity is the number one cause of newborn death.”  Says Arndt, “we don’t want these tiny victims to be forgotten.  We want to join families in honoring the heroic struggle of these babies.  We hope to one day find prevention for premature birth and awareness of the problem is key.”

If your child or a child you know was born prematurely and would like to be included in the Roll Call near you please call 1-800-244-9255 or visit the Roll Call page on the Indiana Chapter website at marchofdimes.com/Indiana.

Indiana Chapter Prematurity Roll Call events and Locations:

• Friday, October 27th - Mt. Vernon, IN
• Thursday, November 2nd - Tell City
• Monday, November 6th - Washington, IN
• Wednesday, November 8th - Princeton, IN

Thursday, November 9th - Orleans, IN

• Monday November 13th - Vincennes, IN

Roll Calls to be held on Prematurity Awareness Day - November 14th

• Evansville, IN - Four Freedoms Monument
• Indianapolis, IN - White River State Park Canal
• Lafayette, IN - Riele Plaza
• Columbia City
• Angola
• Clay County
• Putnam County
• Vigo County
•  Batesville City Hall
• Columbus
• Bloomington
• Seymour
• Fort Wayne
• Bluffton
• South Bend
• Elkhart
• Bremen
• Wednesday, November 15th -Jasper, IN 

The March of Dimes is a national voluntary health agency whose mission is to improve the health of babies by preventing premature birth, 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 marchofdimes.com/indiana or its Spanish Web site at nacersano.org.