FOR INFORMATION CONTACT:
Jennifer Stelse, March of Dimes, 608.243.7764 or 608.235.3036 (cell), jstelse@marchofdimes.com
March of Dimes biggest fundraiser helps babies be born healthy
(Madison, WI)—On Saturday, May 7th in downtown Madison, local families and business will rally together to celebrate babies for the annual March of Dimes March for Babies walk.
With one out of every eight babies born premature, many families are directly impacted by the mission of March of Dimes. This years’ local ambassador family, the Visgers, understand how important participation in March for Babies is. Brian and Meghan will be walking in honor of their daughter, Nora. Nora, now 2, was born sixteen weeks early weighing only 1 pounds 9 ounces. She was a mere 12 inches long. Nora spent an unbelievable five months in the neo natal intensive care unit at St. Mary’s Hospital. While Nora was fortunate to not have any major health issues from being born too soon, the Visgers still worry about how her premature birth will affect her overall health as she gets older.
“We are honored to be the 2011 Madison Ambassador Family,” said Brian. “We hope by telling our story we can inspire others to get involved and fundraise for this important cause. We don’t want another family to have to go through the heartbreak of watching their baby try to survive being born too soon. All babies deserve a healthy start and March of Dimes is working hard to help make that a reality.”
The Visgers are joined by Mark Rothwell and Tom Kirschbaum, the 2011 Madison March for Babies Chairs. Both are employees of Dean Health System. Rothwell knows first hand how important the March of Dimes mission is. As a father to premature twins, he took on the role to raise awareness and important funding to provide for babies who are born premature or with birth defects.
Local families like the Visgers, along with businesses such as presenting sponsors Dean and St. Mary’s will come out in force as March for Babies participants and fundraisers so that one day all babies will be born healthy.
“Health care providers, like St. Mary’s, are doing great things to give our smallest patients the best chance possible for healthy, happy lives,” says Dr. Frank Byrne, President of St. Mary’s Hospital. “My family knows from personal experience how heart-wrenching it is when your child requires neonatal intensive care to survive. We’re proud to partner with the March of Dimes because we, too, dream of a day when no parent has to go through something like this.”
Registration for the Madison walk begins at 8:30 am at the 200 Block of Martin Luther King Jr. Blvd. A short program will begin at 9am, with the walk officially kicking off at 9:30am. After a scenic two or four-mile walk through State Street and the UW Campus, participants will enjoy fun, food and festivities at the start/finish area including music, inflatable games, face painting, mascots and more. To register, visit http://www.marchforabies.org.
Madison’s March for Babies is sponsored by Dean Health Clinic, St. Mary’s Hospital, UW Health, Valero Renewables, Group Health Cooperative, Park Bank, Meriter, Physician’s Plus, Dental Health Associates, Madison Gas and Electric, M&I Bank and Covance.
Funds raised by March for Babies in help support prenatal wellness programs, research grants, neonatal intensive care unit (NICU) family support programs and advocacy efforts for stronger, healthier babies.
The March of Dimes is the leading nonprofit organization for pregnancy and baby health. With Chapters nationwide and its premier event, March for Babies, the March of Dimes works to improve the health of babies by preventing birth defects, premature birth and infant mortality. For the latest resources and information, visit marchofdimes.com or nacersano.org .
