1

Title Page:

Introduction:

Having children was the farthest thing from Kim Presson’s mind, when she began volunteering for the March of Dimes.

Later in life she became pregnant, and had no idea that the money she helped raise would one day save the life of her child.

Hello everyone.

My name is Kati Richards and I am here to talk to you about the March of Dimes Organization. I have been a volunteer for the March of Dimes for the past 3 years and am very glad to be here with you today.

I hope to give you a better understanding of what this organization is about and why your help is needed.

2

I will start by giving you a brief intro about the March of Dimes

Then I will speak about the March of Dime’s History of Success

Next, I will inform you about the Prematurity Campaign and give

you a few facts on birth rates in the U.S. and Alabama.

Then I will explain ways that you can help the March of Dimes

Next, I will discuss what the March of Dimes is doing today

And I will then end with a summary of the Presentation

I will now begin by introducing you to the March of Dimes

organization.

3

What is the March of Dimes?

-An organization that is involved in helping reduce

premature births.

-MOD is made up of researchers, volunteers, educators,

outreach workers, and advocates, who all work together

in the fight to save babies.

Why is there such a great need for the MOD?

-B/c everyday 1 in 8 babies is born premature in the U.S.

-And b/c it can happen to any woman and it is the

leading cause of newborn deaths and a major cause of

many lifelong disabilities.

This organization has succeeded from the very

beginning. Starting with the Polio campaign-

4

5

On August 11th of 1921, Franklin D. Roosevelt awoke to

find that his legs were paralyzed. He was later

diagnosed with polio.

In 1938, President Roosevelt established the MoD to

help raise money to save America’s youth from polio.

Within 17 years the Salk vaccine was founded and there

has not been a case of the disease in the Western

Hemisphere since 1991.

Now that polio was beaten the March of Dimes continued

their fight but with a new campaign.

6

After defeating Polio, the March of Dimes them turned its

attention to an even greater challenge—

Reducing prematurity

Fighting birth defects

Reducing infant mortality rates

And educating the world about prematurity and ways to

reduce it.

The March of Dimes prematurity campaign has been a

big help in spreading the news about prematurity.

7

8

The March of Dimes has two main goals:

#1: To raise awareness about prematurity. In 2002 only

35% considered prematurity as a very serious problem.

March of Dimes wants to raise this percentage to 60% by

2007.

The 2nd goal is to reduce the rate of premature births by

15%. They hope to accomplish this by educating people

and by funding researchers.

9

Why is it considered a National health crisis

b/c it counts for 12% of all live births in the U.S.

Why serious?

It’s the leading killer in a babies first month of life and

may cause life long probs.

Why costly?

Very devastating, hospital bills=$75,000

Why a mystery?

No one knows the answers to have of all births. There

are a few factors such as multiple births that they know

can cause prematurity. And they are looking for the

answers today

10

The more knowledge that researchers gain the

smaller the gap becomes. Everyday the gap is

diminishing with the more knowledge gained b/c of

the March of Dimes help.

They raise money to fund researchers

We can see the areas where the most help is

needed by looking at the facts.

We will now look at the birth rates in the U.S. and

in Alabama.

11

12

This is a map of the % of live premature births in

the U.S. The Southeast has the highest amount of

premature births. Alabama is included in this.

13

This map shows the % of live premature births in

Alabama. As you can see the center and southern

Alabama or around what is known as the black belt

area. Alabama is one of the states that have a

higher % of premature births. The more involved

Alabama gets the better the chance for this rate to

go down.

14

In 2002, there were 9,278 preterm births in

Alabama this represents 15.7% of all live births in

the U.S..

Between 1992 and 2002 premature births

increased 19%. The goal is to decrease this rate

by 2007.

If this goal is going to get accomplished the March

of Dimes will need all the help they can get. Next

are ways that you can help.

15

Ways to donate:

-Online, by mail, by phone

-By banding together- an online way to sponsor

a child

-donate vehicles, cell phones, etc.

- Donate your time– by volunteering

Become a volunteer:

-Volunteer at the national office

-At a chapter office; such as the office I

volunteer for in Huntsville called the Mountain Lakes Division

Ways to participate:

#1 way to participate is with WalkAmerica!

Put together a coin bank drive- as shown in the pictures on this slide

You can also look for special annual events that will be posted

16

Just as the March of Dimes met the challenge of

polio with determination, they are determined to

win the fight against prematurity.

For unknown reasons, more than 470,000 babies

are born premature in the U.S. every year.

In the future they hope to accomplish the goals

they have set and just as they beat polio they hope

to defeat prematurity. No one is working harder

than the March of Dimes to fight prematurity and

they won’t stop until every baby is born healthy.

Moving on…. I have introduced……

17

I have introduced you to the March of Dimes Organization by discussing their history of success, by explaining their prematurity campaign, by showing you the many different ways that you can help, and by telling you where the MOD stands today.

This organization has a 65- year history for saving America’s children and the fight to keep them safe will keep going on. As long as there is a need the March of Dimes will be there to help.

As I close this presentation, I would like to go back to the story of the Kim Presson that I spoke to you about. Kim Presson is a prime example that a premature birth can happen to anyone… she was healthy and had never drank, smoked or taken drugs. But in October of 1996, her baby was born 4 months too soon. She weighed only 1 pound and 1 ounce and was 111/2 inches long. This is a bag of rice that is a duplicate of how much the baby weighed and it’s length. The family was told not to name her b/c she wouldn’t live. But with the funding for certain kind of lung therapy that Kim helped raise, her baby, Samantha lived.

Can you imagine the amount of other lives that this organization has helped save. What better reason to go and volunteer for the March of Dimes today, b/c you never know…. It could be your child who needs help one day.