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| March of Dimes March for Babies Kicks Off Campaign in Charleston |
Published:
2/1/2016 4:04:49 PM
The March of Dimes held the official kick off for the 2016 March for Babies fundraising campaign on January 28 at The Elks Lodge. Dean Stephens of ABC News 4 served as emcee at the event and over 150 representatives from family and corporate teams from the Charleston community attended.
“This kick off is a wonderful opportunity to get our teams’ fundraising efforts started, so they have plenty of time to recruit team members and raise money for healthier babies” said Jennifer Wilson, Community Director for the Lowcountry Division of March of Dimes. “March for Babies will be held on April 30 at Cannon Park in downtown Charleston. Funds raised for March for Babies support vital research to help prevent premature birth and birth defects and supports community programs that help moms have full-term pregnancies. The March of Dimes will invest more than $300,000 this year in community projects improving the health of South Carolina’s moms and babies.”
South Carolina currently has a premature birth rate of 10.8%--one of the highest in the country. Premature babies often struggle to survive and many have lifelong health and developmental consequences. In half of all cases there is no known cause for premature birth.
During the Kick Off, participants from March for Babies 2015 who raised $1,000 or more were recognized as part of the Circle of Champions. “Our Circle of Champions are leading the way so more babies will have a healthy start in life, and more families will know the joy of having a healthy baby,” said Wilson.
One family who knows what the journey of premature birth is serving as this year’s Charleston Ambassadors. Yakisha Bookard’s three sons, Joel, 11, Joshua, 8, and Justus Simmons, 4, were all born prematurely and all three are happy and healthy today. Yakisha will be sharing her story throughout the 2016 March for Babies campaign.
To register yourself or a family or corporate team, please call the March of Dimes office at 843-571-1776 or visit marchofdimes.crg/southcarolina.
In Charleston, March for Babies is sponsored by Heritage Trust Federal Credit Union, the Medical University of South Carolina (MUSC), Bosch, Publix, Select Health of South Carolina, Kapstone, South Carolina Federal Credit Union, Roper St. Francis, Blue Cross Blue Shield, and iHeartMedia.
Each year the South Carolina Chapter of the March of Dimes invests in mission initiatives statewide, including research grants and local community programs. Through these programs, the March of Dimes continues working to prevent birth defects and infant death, to reduce South Carolina’s premature birth rate, and to increase access to prenatal care and educate men and women about having healthy babies.
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