Bernie Sherry joins national team of 50 leaders to raise $100 million in March for Babies 2010 fundraising campaign

Nashville, TN (Oct. 9, 2009)—Almost 15% Tennessee’s babies will be born premature this year, but Baptist Hospital President and CEO Bernie Sherry is working with the March of Dimes to change this. In Washington, D.C., Sherry 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. Sherry, who is serving as the Nashville 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. And in Tennessee, 240 babies are born premature each week. New information on the state of Tennessee’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 leader, this campaign gives me a unique opportunity to help the community that I love. And as a father, I can’t think of a more important cause than our babies,” said Sherry, who will be visiting local businesses to request their support in the coming months. “One in seven of our babies here in Nashville are born premature, and that’s just not acceptable. Our goal is for all babies to be born healthy – it can be a reality, but it takes leaders in our community working together to make it happen.”

Sherry knows how important the March of Dimes’ mission is. As event chair for the 2010 March for Babies, the March of Dimes’ biggest fundraiser, he is personally committed to raising $80,000 toward the March for Babies goal of $600,000 to support March of Dimes research and community programs to help moms have full-term pregnancies and babies to begin healthy lives. 

Baptist Hospital is the leader in obstetrics care in our region, delivering 7,000 babies each year.

“At Baptist Hospital, we understand the effects that premature births and infant mortality can have on families and know more needs to be done. By working with and supporting the March of Dimes, we feel we’re helping to bring more attention to these issues,” said Sherry.

Middle Tennessee residents can sign up at www.marchforbabies.org/kickoff2010 and start a March for Babies team with co-workers, family or friends. Last year, more than 3,500 people participated in the event, which is scheduled for April 2010 at Centennial Park.

“We’re so excited to have Bernie on board to help us at a local level,” said Leslie Ladd, State Director for the Tennessee March of Dimes Chapter. “His 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 he’s able to lend us.”

About the March of Dimes

Each week in the state of Tennessee, 240 babies are born prematurely.  In 2009, the Tennessee Chapter of the March of Dimes invested more than $3,000,000 in Tennessee for program services, including national research grants, community grants, and local public and professional education. Through these grants, the March of Dimes works to improve the health of babies.  For more latest resources and information, visit marchofdimes.com/tennessee, nacersano.org., or givingmatters.com

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. 

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