News Moms Need

Today is the star-studded March of Dimes Celebration of Babies, a Hollywood luncheon at the Beverly Hills Hotel in Los Angeles. The Celebration of Babies brings together and recognizes celebrities and prominent individuals in the entertainment community who are pregnant or celebrating the recent birth of a child, and who are role models for the March of Dimes mission to improve the health of babies by helping moms have healthy, full-term pregnancies.

Actor and producer Reese Witherspoon will receive the 2012 March of Dimes Grace Kelly Award, which recognizes role-model celebrity parents who share the March of Dimes commitment to healthy pregnancies and families. Cyma Zarghami, President of Nickelodeon Group, will be honored as the Inspiring Woman of the Year for her accomplishments as a leader in the entertainment industry and as a dedicated mother to her three sons, Liam, Wyatt and Ethan. Medical doctor Bryan Oshiro will receive the 2012 Elaine Whitelaw Volunteer Service Award. Oshiro is Vice-Chairman of the Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology and Medical Director of the Perinatal Institute at the Loma Linda University Medical Center. Oshiro’s work with March of Dimes has resulted in groundbreaking health guidelines for hospitals and obstetricians.

March of Dimes continues our recognition of expecting and new parents by honoring the 2012 Celebration of Babies Stork Club. Stork Club members are entertainment industry leaders who are expecting a baby, or have had baby this past year. Members include Amanda Anka and Jason Bateman, Drew Barrymore and Will Koppelman, Megan Fox and Brian Austin Green and others.

March of Dimes has long-standing ties to the Hollywood community. Since its founding in 1938, supporters over the years have included Eddie Cantor, Grace Kelly, Lucille Ball & Desi Arnaz, Sammy Davis Jr. and Bill Cosby, to name a few.

In honor of the March of Dimes Youtube account passing 6 million video views this week, here’s a look back at one of the first videos we ever posted.

This is a great deal for all back to school shoppers, or for just those of us who are looking to buy something fun and new. Seriously, it’s a 25% savings to you and it helps the March of Dimes, too.

Join the March of Dimes and Macy’s as we Shop For A Cause on August 25th. As the exclusive in-store beneficiary of this annual Macy’s event, March of Dimes will receive 100% of your donation when you purchase a savings pass in-store for $5. Not only will you be getting some of the best savings of the year, but you’ll be supporting moms and babies right in your own community.

The best part? Spread the love by sharing the news with your friends and family so they can join in on the savings, too! They can join our event or visit www.marchofdimes.com/shopforacause and we’ll send an email reminder so they don’t forget to Shop For A Cause on August 25th.

Check it out!

Dr. Siobhan Dolan talks about how exercise can help women have a healthy pregnancy and which exercises are safe during pregnancy.

We all have stories about why we walk. What is yours?

March for Babies is always an exciting event, and its origins are hidden in plain sight. March for Babies thrives thanks to the generosity and enthusiasm of individuals, families, and organizations committed to our cause of saving babies. Yet the format of the event – people assembling in public to walk a prescribed route and raise money – remains the same year after year. Why is it a successful event? What makes it so popular? Where did it come from? 

Until 2008, March for Babies had been known as WalkAmerica, but long before that it flourished in March of Dimes chapter events called “walk-a-thons.” The idea first caught fire in San Antonio, Texas and Columbus, Ohio in late 1970, and chapters across the country duplicated the event with stunning success.  Though we date March for Babies from 1970, there were actually earlier walks organized by teens in Alabama and Georgia in 1966, and a 100-mile trek by young walkers in Tennessee in 1965. These precursors had one constant – they were organized by youth, members of the March of Dimes Teen-Age Program (TAP) that blossomed in the Sixties.

The social turmoil that characterized the 1960s brought countless people into the streets to voice their protest or to support a cause. The waves of social activism of the Sixties youth movement spilled over into positive areas of commitment, and the March of Dimes capitalized on this to capture youthful energy to “protest” against birth defects. The motto of TAP was “Go MOD,” and March of Dimes teens percolated with fresh ideas to raise money. By the early Seventies, walk-a-thons of 25 or 26 miles were customary, and completing the full marathon course earned any walker entry into the “Order of the Battered Boot.”

Another impetus for the walks was fitness and health, specifically aerobic exercise. In 1968, Kenneth Cooper, MD authored a popular book titled Aerobics. “Aerobics” was then a new word that described a concept of cardio-vascular health, and Dr. Cooper engaged the March of Dimes and other health agencies in San Antonio in 1969 to put this concept into action by holding a public walking event. One year later, the San Antonio chapter held an independent walk-a-thon, and astronaut John Glenn participated a few weeks later in the Columbus walk. The phenomenal success of these initial efforts culminated in the nationally organized event the March of Dimes began to call WalkAmerica a decade later.

Why do we walk in March for Babies? That’s an easier question to answer. Most people do so because they believe in and/or are connected to our mission of saving babies and preventing prematurity. But the historical background of walking to publicize a life-affirming cause, and thereby staying fit through aerobic exercise, are behind our many individual reasons. March for Babies remains an energetic and enlivening way to say how much we care about babies – it’s fun, it promotes health, and it makes a difference!

I hope to see you out walking with us this weekend!

Family teams are the heart of our March for Babies event. Made up of friends and family members, they walk to celebrate, honor or remember the babies and children who have touched their lives. Everyone has their own story, but we all share the same goal — stronger, healthier babies.

Here’s a look back on the March of Dimes’ efforts in the fight against polio. Jonas Salk, President Franklin D. Roosevelt, and Basil O’Connor are featured in this historical footage.

When you walk in March for Babies, you give hope to the more than half a million babies born too soon each year. The money you raise supports programs in your community that help moms have healthy, full-term pregnancies. And it funds research to find answers to the problems that threaten our babies. We’ve been walking since 1970 and have raised an incredible $2 billion to benefit all babies.