March of Dimes Holds 36th Annual WalkAmerica

Continues Fight To Prevent Growing Premature Birth Rate

WHITE PLAINS, N.Y., MARCH 21, 2005 -- With more than 800,000 walkers and volunteers, the nation's best-loved annual fundraising event for babies – the March of Dimes WalkAmerica – will take place the weekend of April 30-May 1 with a goal of $99 million this year.

WalkAmerica has raised more than $1.3 billion for the health of America's babies since 1970. The funds collected support March of Dimes programs of research, community services, and education, which have included such lifesaving breakthroughs as:  

• Initiation of special intensive care nurseries in hospitals to care for sick newborns.
• Research on surfactant therapy, which helps babies born with under-developed lungs to breathe.
• Folic acid education campaign to prevent neural tube defects.
• Community grants to help women get prenatal care.

“We are immensely proud of the successes achieved by the March of Dimes and WalkAmerica, but our fight to save babies continues,'' said Dr. Jennifer L. Howse, president of the March of Dimes. “Premature births have risen by 29 percent since 1981.  Our multi-year national Prematurity Campaign seeks to raise awareness of this serious and growing problem, and to reduce the premature birth rate.  There is so much more than needs to be done to give every baby a healthy start in life, and WalkAmeirca is a great place for everyone to start.''

Approximately 22,000 teams will participate in WalkAmerica nationwide, drawn from corporations, unions, schools, clubs and other organizations. The Walk takes place in nearly 1,100 communities in all 50 states, the District of Columbia and Puerto Rico. People can register for Walk by visiting walkamerica.org or by calling 1-800-525-WALK.

The March of Dimes WalkAmerica national sponsors, Kmart Corporation, CIGNA HealthCare, FedEx Kinkos, Arm & Hammer, Farmers Insurance Group, First Response, Famous Footwear, Mead Johnson, Discovery Health and Prevention are helping in leading the way to healthier babies.