20

APRIL, 2017

The March of Dimes organization was one that not only informed me of all that they do, but took my perspective of infants to a different level. From the visual of the type of diapers pre-mature babies have to wear to the statistics about infant mortality, the reality of having a baby is not as easy as it seems to be.

While talking with the Executive Director of March of Dimes here in Memphis, Rosa Potts told me the three things that they were big on: pre-mature babies, also known as “preemies”, infant mortality, and birth defects. They also aid mothers in receiving the pre-natal and postpartum care that they need in order to ensure that their child will be born healthy.

March of Dimes was founded by President Franklin Delano Roosevelt, who was dealing with polio at the time. Polio was a type of crippling disease that was prominent back in the 20th Century, but it now does not affect anyone anymore because of the polio vaccine that has saved millions of people’s lives. President Roosevelt gave March of Dimes its name because of the many Americans that helped donate to the cause. Along with these successes, March of Dimes has had many breakthroughs in their research for certain things and has had many discoveries with babies. One of the most common discoveries would be that a mother cannot drink alcohol while pregnant because it can cause birth defects for the child.

One event that the March of Dimes hosts annually would be its March for Babies event, where people are able to participate in the walk and in the other activities as well. I was given the opportunity to attend one of the logistical committee meeting’s for the March for Babies event and noticed that there were teens, like myself, at the meeting, receiving their assignments for this event. Some teens were given the assignment of supervising the little kids walk while others were over the registration tables or over the set-up and break-down committees. Altogether, these people were about their business and the one thing that made me want to volunteer with March of Dimes was the zeal they had behind everything.

Also, at the meeting, I learned that majority of the people in attendance was either a preemie or had a family member that was one and hearing those different stories about the severity of pre-mature birth truly was something to ponder about. This is why March of Dimes hosts special events, like March for Babies, to not only gain the finances they need to help families across the nation, but also to remind families to be grateful of their little ones.

March for Babies
Date: Saturday, May 06, 2017
Registration: 8:00AM | Start: 9:00 AM
Walk distance: 2.5 miles
Shelby Farms Park
6903 Great View Drive North
Memphis, TN 38120
Click to learn more!