Bus Tour to Visit Greenville, South Carolina on October 19

 (Greenville, SC OCTOBER 15, 2007)  -- “Every Baby Has a Story,” a new grassroots and integrated media project celebrating babies—those born healthy as well as those who need help to survive and thrive—has been launched by the March of Dimes.

November is Prematurity Awareness Month, a time to recognize the growing crisis of premature birth, and an opportunity for the March of Dimes to support and educate moms about how to give their babies a healthy start in life. 

A traveling “Every Baby Story Tour” motor coach will crisscross the nation on a challenging 28-day road trip, collecting memorable, inspiring, and humorous baby stories from moms and dads and family members at each location.

In Greenville, the bus will be hosted at two sites. The morning stop will be at Greenville Memorial Hospital at 701 Grove Road from 10:30 a.m. to 1 p.m. A brief program will begin at 10:30 a.m. and will include remarks by Chuck Perry, South Carolina President for SunTrust and Chairman of the March of Dimes Greenville Board of Directors.

 Michael Riordan, President and CEO, Greenville Hospital System University Medical Center (GHS) and Bryan Ohning, M.D., medical director of the GHS Children Hospital’s Bryan Neonatal Intensive Care Unit.

“We are pleased to be part of this nationwide tour giving families a chance to tell their own stories,” said Riordan. “We hope that these stories of perseverance and triumph give encouragement to families whose own babies may still be struggling.”

 The Aldridge family of Gray Court, will also be part of the program. In 2004, Troy and Dana Aldridge’s daughter Alana was born 10 weeks early weighing two pounds, eight ounces. She suffered many complications as a result of her premature birth and stayed at Bryan  Neonatal Intensive Care Unit at GHS for 51 days before going home. Alana’s photo is featured on the national tour bus, and the Aldridge’s will share their story—using the interactive story stations on the bus—during the stop at Greenville Memorial Hospital.

The second stop on the tour will be at The Shops at Greenridge, located at I-385, I-85 and Woodruff Road from 2:30 – 5:30 p.m. “We at The Shops at Greenridge are thrilled to host this event and support moms and babies in the Greenville area. Our tenants have a strong sense of community…this is just another way to reach out and make a difference” said Lara Bailey with OuiMarketing, the local marketing contact for select Crosland Retail Properties including The Shops at Greenridge.

 “This storytelling project lets proud parents all over the country tell a special story about the baby they know and love,” said Dr. Jennifer L. Howse, president of the March of Dimes.  “Families can also express their hopes and dreams for a baby who has struggled to survive.”

For each person who tells their story on the Every Baby Story Tour motor coach, Farmer’s Insurance will donate $20. Additional participant gifts have been generously donated by Farmers, FedEx, American Baby Magazine, Motor Coach Industries, and others. The first pregnant woman to tell her story on site will receive a special gift from Motherhood Maternity.

The tour begins on October 17th in New York City and then proceeds to Washington, D.C. for the March of Dimes largest annual gathering of top volunteers, the Volunteer Leadership Conference. Other stops will include Atlanta, GA; Nashville, TN; Houston, TX; Phoenix, AZ; Los Angeles, CA; Denver, CO; St. Louis, MO; Chicago, IL; Indianapolis, IN; and Philadelphia, PA before arriving back in Times Square in New York City on November 13.

Several celebrity stories have already been recorded: Fred Savage, star of the hit show, “The Wonder Years,” and son Ollie have recorded their stories, as have Julie Bowen, from television’s “Boston Legal," and "Ed"; Melissa Joan Hart, star of "Sabrina the Teenage Witch" series; Constance Zimmer, from the HBO hit series "Entourage" and “Boston Legal”; Kellie Martin, from the series "Life Goes On" and "ER"; Diane Farr, from the  hit show "Numbers” on CBS; and Alimi Ballard, star of the hit show  "Numbers."

The web site, marchofdimes.com/everybaby, powered by Scrapblog.com, allows people who can’t visit the motor coach on tour to add their stories via an interactive scrapbook page, including photos, text or video. The site features a map of the United States where all these great baby stories can be added.

SPONSORS

Farmer’s Insurance, an “Every Baby Story Tour” sponsor, will donate $20 for every story told on the motor coach and agents will join the tour at select stops along the route.

Motor Coach Industries (MCI) generously donated a brand new motor coach to the March of Dimes “Every Baby Story Tour.”   Trailways Transportation System is donating all operating expenses and their network of Trailways’ operators across the U.S. who will service the “Every Baby Story Tour” motor coach throughout its cross-country trip. United Motorcoach Association also helped with the operating expenses of the coach.  The association has been instrumental in coordinating the donation of the coach with MCI.

             On the marchofdimes.com/everybaby web site, Shutterfly.com, the leading online photo service, is offering a coupon for a free poster-sized print to anyone who donates $20 or more to the campaign.

Other corporate support for the “Every Baby Has a Story” campaign and Prematurity Awareness Month are Johnson & Johnson Pediatric Institute L.L.C., FedEx, CIGNA, Motherhood Maternity and First Response.  Media sponsors are American Baby, Working Mother and Babytalk. 

Partners in the March of Dimes Prematurity Campaign are the American College  of  Obstetricians and Gynecologists, the American Academy of Pediatrics, and the Association of Women’s Health, Obstetrics and Neonatal Nurses.

Last year, the South Carolina March of Dimes invested more than $4.2 million in program services, including research grants and local community services.  Through these grants, the March of Dimes is seeking ways to prevent birth defects and infant death, reduce South Carolina’s increasing premature birth rate, increase access to prenatal care and educate men and women about having healthy babies.

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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