ALLENTOWN, PA (Oct. 9, 2009)—More than 17,000 of Pennsylvania’s babies will be born premature this year, but local mom and businesswoman Susan Aboulhouda is working with the March of Dimes to change this. Tonight in Washington, D.C., Ms. Aboulhouda joined an elite group of business leaders hand-picked from across the country by the March of Dimes to help lead the nation in the quest for healthy babies. Aboulhouda who is serving as the Lehigh Valley March for Babies Chair, met with the National March for Babies Co-Chairs Alan Mulally, President and CEO of Ford Motors, and Ron Gettelfinger, President of UAW, at an exclusive reception at the Library of Congress to discuss how to energize the country and raise money to help fund research and programs to help every baby have a healthy start.

At the reception, Dr. Jennifer L. Howse, President of the March of Dimes, shared startling statistics showing that nearly 13 million infants were born preterm worldwide in 2005 and more than a million infants die each year from their early birth. In Pennsylvania, more than 17,000 babies were born premature and more than 1000 infants did not survive due to their preterm birth.  New information on the state of Pennsylvania’s babies will be released this November during Prematurity Awareness Month. March for Babies, the March of Dimes’ largest fundraiser, helps fund lifesaving research and educational programs aimed at helping moms have healthy babies.

“As a business person, this campaign gives me a unique opportunity to help the community that I love. And as a mother, I can’t think of a more important cause than our babies,” said Ms. Aboulhouda who will be visiting local businesses to request their support in the coming months. “One in eight of our babies are born premature, and that’s just not acceptable. Our goal is that every one of our babies is born healthy – it can be a reality, but it takes leaders in our community working together to make it happen.”

Susan Aboulhouda of ArtsQuest knows first hand just how important the March of Dimes mission is.  Susan’s daughter, Catharine was born 16 weeks early, weighing just 1 pound, 10 ounces and spent 113 days in the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU).  The Aboulhouda’s served as the March of Dimes 2008 National Ambassador Family, traveling around the country and sharing their story to help others understand the seriousness of premature birth and the importance of supporting the March of Dimes mission. 

Lehigh Valley residents can sign up at www.marchforbabies.org/kickoff2010 and start a team with co-workers, family or friends. Last year, more than 5,500 people attended the event.  This year’s March for Babies will be held on May 2, 2010 at Dorney Park.

“We’re so excited to have Susan on board to help us at a local level,” said James Dennis, State Director for the Pennsylvania March of Dimes Chapter. “Her passion for the cause and commitment to helping our babies will be a huge driving factor in the success of our event next year. We are grateful for the time and support she’s able to lend us.”

About the March of Dimes
The March of Dimes is the leading nonprofit organization for pregnancy and baby health. The 2010 March for Babies is sponsored nationally by Kmart, Farmers Insurance Group, Continental Airlines, Famous Footwear, FedEx, Sanofi-Paster, First Response and Mission Pharmacal.