Advocacy Network
The Advocacy Network is made up of volunteers and staff who promote the March of Dimes mission agenda in Maryland, Virginia and the District of Columbia by contacting governors, mayors and state legislators in response to Chapter action alerts.
Since the nation's capital is in this Chapter, our volunteers also visit Capitol Hill to address national legislation. One of our long-time volunteers,
Kathy Paz-Mingledorf of Springfield, Va., was our strongest advocate for the State Children's Health Insurance Program (SCHIP). In February 2009, President Barack Obama signed legislation that expanded the program (Children's Health Insurance Reauthorization Act of 2009).
For the past two years, Kathy has testified on Capitol Hill, given local and national media interviews and spoken at press conferences on behalf of SCHIP. To read a recent story about Kathy ("Speaking for SCHIP: Springfield Mother Testifies on Capitol Hill for Health Insurance Bill for Children,"
Springfield Connection, Feb. 19, 2009),
click here.
Kathy and another Chapter volunteer, Jill Wood, are two of three March of Dimes volunteers named "Champions of Change" on our National Web site. To read about the work of these advocacy volunteers,
click here.
If you are interested in becoming a public affairs volunteer, or being part of the Advocacy Network, please contact Dona Dei at (703) 824-0111, ext. 14, or Anne Eder at (410) 752-8073.
