WalkAmerica to fight premature birth

Central Valley — WalkAmerica 2006, a fund-raising event by March of Dimes, will be held on Sunday, April 30, at Woodbury Common Premium Outlets on Route 32 in Central Valley. An event for the whole family, registration will start at 8 a.m. and the walk itself at 9 a.m. Each walker will receive a complimentary Woodbury Common Premium Outlets VIP Coupon Book, a $10 value, filled with hundreds of dollars in savings from select stores. The walk will help support March of Dimes fight against premature births, the leading killer of newborns and a major cause of disabilities. It now affects half a million babies born in the U.S. every year, and the number has increased by 30 percent since 1983. In Orange County, 1 in 8 were born prematurely in 2005. “If we don’t join together to fight premature birth,” said Ed Diana, WalkAmerica 2006 honorary chair, “the problem will continue to get worse.” The money raised will support the research to find out how to prevent premature births, and programs that will give hope and help families who experience it. For more information, or to join the event, visit www.walkamerica.org or call 454-8850. For 2006, national sponsors are CIGNA, Famous Footwear, Farmers Insurance Group, FedEx, and Kmart. Additional national sponsorship is provided by Babyfit.com, Continental Airlines, Discovery Health Channel, First Response, Grain Foods Foundation, Mead Johnson Nutritionals, and Outdoor Services. Local sponsors include SOS Fuels, Orange Regional Medical Center, Bank of New York, and WalMart. The March of Dimes is a national voluntary health agency whose mission is to improve the health of babies by preventing birth defects, premature birth, and infant mortality. Founded in 1938, the group funds programs of research, community services, education, and advocacy to save babies. In 2003, it launched a campaign to address the increasing rate of premature birth. For more information, visit www.marchofdimes.com (English) or www.nacersano.org (Spanish).