Community Corner
Baby Steps: 3-Mile Walk Benefits Infant Care Research
More than 1,000 participate in March of Dimes' 8th annual event at FDU.
Walking under braids of purple and white balloons on a picturesque Sunday, more than 1,000 participants put their best foot forward at Sunday morning for the Morris County March for Babies event.
The March for Babies, a program of the March of Dimes, is a 3-mile walk around the university campus to support stronger, healthier babies in the community and worldwide.
Each year, an estimated 14,000 babies are born prematurely in New Jersey and 1 in 33 in the United States are born with a serious birth defect. Events such as the March for Babies aims to change that.
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“Money raised is used to provide expectant Moms with education, and support whether it’s through research to find the best medicine or equipment or other outreach programs,” March of Dimes Community Director Jacqueline Kelly said.
Kelly said the event, now in its eighth year, is expected to raise $200,000 for the Morris County chapter of the March of Dimes programs in Madison and surrounding communities.
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Funds raised from March for Babies will help benefit programs such as Healthy Babies are Worth the Wait, a community outreach program aimed to reduce elective C-sections before 39 weeks gestation for adequate brain, heart and lung development. Worth the Wait is particularly crucial for expectant mothers without insurance or access to an OB GYN and prenatal care.
“Those last four weeks of a pregnancy are so critical,” Kelly said.
Some participants understood the realities of that all too well. Lauren Krueger was spurred to action after her brother’s girlfriend gave birth to 27-week-old Mikey Delaney, born on March 29.
“I saw this and I thought,‘why wouldn’t we do this?'” Krueger said. “So in a month, we organized a team—Team Mikey D.”—and we raised about $1,400 with the team goal being $1,000.
Kruger said Mikey is expected to be in the hospital’s NICU or intensive care unit, for the next two months.
“We want to help others who experience this,” Kruger said. “And I want for Mikey to some day be here with us.”
Atlantic Health was joined by Watson Pharmaceuticals, Investors Savings Bank, Colgate Palmolive, Pricewaterhouse Coopers, Whole Foods Market Madison, Weiner Lesniak, Nisivoccia LLP, Chakra, Chateau the Art of Beauty, Nisha Nails & Spa, Omni Medical Spa, Stage LEft Fashions, Parsippany Kiwanis and BLK Water.
March for Babies is held in 900 communities across the United States and involves more than 7 million people each year.
