by Enies B. Burton III
Staff Writer
On your mark ... get set ... walk!
The March of Dimes WalkAmerica, the largest one-day walking event in Houston, will move its start and finish lines to the University of Houston Sunday.
According to Julie Heinmann, development coordinator for the March of Dimes, this is the largest national fund-raising walk in the event's history.
This year's event marks the beginning of a new partnership between WalkAmerica and UH.
The March of Dimes is a nationwide organization working for healthier babies and to prevent birth defects. President Franklin D. Roosevelt created the organization in 1938 to fight the polio epidemic.
Linda Riggle, director of WalkAmerica, said 78 percent of all proceeds raised at the walk will go toward the study and research of birth defects.
Walkers are asked to bring as many dimes as possible to support the fight against infant mortality. Barrels for participants to fill with dimes will be set up at the start and finish lines.
Riggle said in September 1996, the Texas Department of Health notified the March of Dimes that there was a 20 percent drop in the infant mortality rate in Harris County due to the walk.
"Moving to UH will save babies' lives," Riggle said, since the large campus and high number of available parking spaces should allow more money to be raised at the event.
When the event began, it was held at Rice University and Houston-area parks. But due to the difficulty of finding a parking space, many Houstonians were unable to participate.
The new UH route will allow participants to conveniently park while accommodating a large number of UH students, faculty and staff, plus many Houstonians.
The March of Dimes estimates that 25,000 people will participate in the walk this year.
Various UH organizations have responded in large numbers to act as volunteers for the event.
Representatives from the Wellness Center, the University Advancement Division, the UH ROTC, all UH colleges and many other people from the UH community plan to volunteer.
Before walkers begin their journey, radio station KHMX 96.5 will present a WalkAmerica kick-off parade. The Cougar Dolls, the Cougar Brass, Calvin Murphy's Marching Thunder group, Mayor Bob Lanier and his wife Elyse will be joined by motorcycles and Hummers in the parade.
The UH Office of Enrollment and Student Affairs will hold a walk picnic. The picnic tent will feature numerous Student Affairs programs, and all walkers can visit and have complementary breakfast.
The route will begin at Robertson Stadium, follow Cullen Boulevard to Braes Bayou, loop around the bayou at Scott to return to Calhoun, and finally will wind through the UH campus back to Cullen and the stadium.