WHITE PLAINS, N.Y., April 19, 2007 – An 82-year-old grandmother from Louisiana does it. So does a 75-year-old man from Maine, a 13-year-old boy from Florida and beauty queens from Ohio and Georgia – just to name a few.
Celebrities, like Tom Bergeron, do it.
More than a million Americans do it each year – it's healthy and for a good cause!
For 36 years, the young, old and people from all walks of life have joined the March of Dimes WalkAmerica, the nation's oldest walking event. They'll do it again this weekend.
This year, “Dancing With The Stars'' host Tom Bergeron is the National WalkAmerica 2007 spokesperson and will walk in Los Angeles.
WalkAmerica is the March of Dimes grassroots effort to raise money for the fight to prevent birth defects, infant mortality and stem the growing crisis of premature birth, the leading killer of newborns. Many participants walk for personal reasons; some in memory of a child lost to premature birth, some to spare others the problems they faced.
Last year, the March of Dimes raised $110.3 million for research and programs. WalkAmerica has raised more than $1.7 billion for the health of America's babies since 1970.
Luke Parrish, 13, from Florida, was born nine weeks premature, weighing about 2.5 pounds and with birth defects. He had his first surgery at two-days old and 18 more since then. While he has life-long consequences from his earlier medical conditions, Luke plays soccer, video games, and is an avid reader. He has raised more than $75,000 for WalkAmerica and was the 2005 top youth fundraiser.
“My mom did everything right, but I still was born too soon. It can happen to anyone,” said Luke. “The odds were that I could be blind or have cerebral palsy. But, I was fortunate. If it wasn't for March of Dimes, I wouldn't be alive today.”
For details about other WalkAmerica participants contact your local March of Dimes chapter. Join the fight to save babies at www.walkamerica.org.
National 2007 WalkAmerica sponsors are Kmart, CIGNA, Continental Airlines, Famous Footwear, Farmers, FedEx, Discovery Health, Grain Foods Foundation, Mead Johnson Nutritionals and Outdoor Services.
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.
