The 2007 MARCH OF DIMES National Ambassador Family at the Golden Mile on March 13th
(Detroit, MI) MARCH, 2007 –The Golden Mile is the official start of WalkAmerica in Michigan at which corporate leaders from the Metro Detroit area will join in a symbolic half-mile walk from the Detroit Athletic Club on March 13, 2007 at 8a.m. The 2007 National Ambassador, Zeek Taylor and his family will be teaming up with the March of Dimes to help kick off the March of Domes well-known fundraiser WalkAmerica, which will be kicked off with the Golden Mile on March 13th.   This is the first year that the National Ambassador Family will be at the Michigan kick-off for WalkAmerica.
“WalkAmerica, the walk that saves babies, is the organizations largest fundraiser.  Since it’s beginnings in 1970, it has been the country’s first and best-loved walking event. In Metro-Detroit WalkAmerica is taking place on April 28th at Hines Park and April 29th at Metro Beach MetroPark, Troy and downtown Detroit,” said Tom Riopelle March of Dimes State Director of Michigan.
“The March of Dimes National Ambassador is one of the most recognized and beloved of volunteers who play a critical role in helping achieve our mission and fundraising objectives,” said Riopelle.  Seven-year-old Ezekiel “Zeek” Taylor, of Durham, North Carolina, has been selected as the March of Dimes National Ambassador for 2007.  This appointment reflects the March of Dimes concern about the disproportionately high rate of premature birth in the United State among African-Americans.  Zeek was born 14 weeks early, weighing just 1 pound, 14 ounces.  Zeek along with his parents, Betty and Corey, are very proud to spread the mission of the March of Dimes while visiting Michigan.
Zeek spent his first 103 days of life in the neonatal intensive care unit, fighting to survive.  He was given surfactant therapy to help his immature lungs inflate between each breadth, and went on to fight and win one medical battle after another — anemia, abnormal blood flow from the heart, and newborn jaundice.  Even after he went home, Zeek faced surgery to correct reflux problems, retinopathy of prematurity, hernias, and pressure on his brain due to meningitis, which developed as the result of a simple ear infection. 
Betty and Corey were both deeply affected by their experience with Zeek’s birth and are grateful for the medical advances — many developed by March of Dimes-funded research — that saved Zeek’s life.  “Our family is forever indebted to the March of Dimes,” says Corey.  “It's because of innovative research funded by the March of Dimes, and the specialized care Zeek received at birth, that he enjoys a happy, normal life.  We can’t say thanks enough for his remarkable outcome, and we look forward to sharing our story with families all across the nation.”
“With the community’s support in WalkAmerica, the March of Dimes conducts top-level research into causes and preventions of premature birth and birth defects.  The March of Dimes also brings information and emotional support to families who have had a premature or sick baby who is being treated in a Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU),” said Tom Riopelle. 
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.
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