May 5, 1999
WalkAmerica raises $45,000
500 walkers, and the first 'Dogs for Dimes Brigade,' take part in local March of Dimes event
By Garret Leiva
Herald staff writer
While doing his stand-up routine one night in 1938, comedian Eddie Canter asked the American public for a serious favor. His request was this: If everyone sent a dime to the White House perhaps President Franklin D. Roosevelt could conquer polio.
Six decades later, the spirit of generosity that created the March of Dimes continues to change the lives of sons and daughters, nieces and nephews - even complete strangers - one dime at a time.
On Saturday, some 500 walkers laced up their sneakers and pounded the sidewalks of Traverse City to support the March of Dimes in its annual WalkAmerica fund-raiser. The single largest source of funding for March of Dimes work, this year's local walk raised an estimated $45,000, said Myra McDowell, division director for the Northern Michigan Chapter.
Raising money through pledge sheet sponsors, McDowell noted that 50 teams and numerous individuals took part in the 6.1 mile walk that started and finished behind the Holiday Inn on Front Street.
Locally, funds raised by walkers have supported service programs provided by the Doula Teen Parent Program, Munson Medical Center and the Grand Traverse County Health Department.
"Causes like this are near and dear to us because of what we do for a living," said Mary Christian, a member of the NorthMed team, which included 20 caring canines that formed the first-ever "Dogs for Dimes Brigade."
"We work with our members on preventive health care and the March of Dimes is all about prevention of birth defects," she said.
For Lisa Burton, the importance of WalkAmerica is witnessed on a daily basis. As a child and family specialist with Northwest Michigan Human Services, Burton said the annual fund-raiser provides something crucial for a young child: a healthy start.
"It provides information to mothers and mothers-to-be on how to take care of themselves to have happy, healthy babies," said Burton, who works with the agency's Early Head Start program for children up to 3 years of age.
On a national level, the WalkAmerica also has made important strides in research, education and community programs to save babies from infant death, birth defects and low birth weight. The track record of success includes surfactant therapy, which has reduced infant deaths due to respiratory distress syndrome by one-half since 1990; neonatal intensive care units, which have cared for an estimated 2.5 million sick babies in the 1990s; and folic acid education, which is enabling women to greatly reduce their risk of having a baby with birth defects of the brain and spine.
Positive statistics, however, is not the underlying reason why walkers can smile despite aching arches and tired toes.
"For me it is seeing people reach beyond themselves to touch other people's lives that they may not even be aware of," said division director McDowell.
"I hope that each walker leaves with the knowledge and awareness that they've helped save some baby's life."