Carolyn DePew
Staff Writer
The March of Dimes drew an estimated crowd of 25,000 participants Sunday to its Walk America charity event at the University of Houston.
"There were more people walking today than we've had in the last several years," said Walk America logistics team member Valeria McDonald.
Although many individuals donated to and participated in the walk, the majority of the participants and funds came from large corporations.
More than 250 companies registered for Walk America. According to McDonald, "people from all walks of life, ranging from the vice presidents to the truck drivers, were participating in the walk."
Kroger, one of the largest contributors, donated $250,000 to the March of Dimes and sent a contingent of at least 500 employees to the walk.
Chase Bank was expecting more than 2,000 employees to participate. Air Liquide and Foley's both had large turnouts and made donations of $80,000 and $75,000 respectively.
Logistics team leader for the walk Linda Riggles "guesstimated" that the March of Dimes "more than met (its) goal of $2,054,000" with this year's walk.
There were a total of 1,400 March of Dimes Walk America marathons taking place across the nation this weekend. Five other walks occurred around Houston. The walk at the UH main campus was the largest in the entire country, even larger than New York City's, which only drew about 15,000 walkers.
This is the second year the March of Dimes has held a walk at UH. The March of Dimes was the first charity organization to hold walk-a-thons and has been doing so for 28 years, according to Riggles.
The walk was six miles long, but some participants said they felt as if it was much longer. When asked if she had been able to complete the walk, Vastar Resources employee Susan Wilson said, "My feet say 'absolutely.'"
Walk America participant Jamie Crawford was one of 100 Vastar Resources employees that volunteered to walk the route. She described the walk as "great fun, great weather and for a great cause."
The March of Dimes raises money to reduce the infant mortality rate and the number of birth defects and to increase pre-natal and infant medical care. It does so through a "program of education, research and advocacy," said Riggles.
Riggles said that Congress just recognized that the March of Dimes was largely responsible for the passing of the National Birth Registry Bill, a law requiring the report of every birth defect that occurs. With this information, the March of Dimes hopes to be able to determine the cause of recurring birth defects in certain areas or populations and stop these defects.
The March of Dimes also donates hundreds of thousands of dollars in grants around Houston, funding such programs as "Baby Buddies," which encourages pre- and post-natal care through the use of incentives.
Last year, the March of Dimes raised $200,000 for incentive programs. One incentive program, in conjunction with Channel 13 and Houston-area Kroger stores, is a citywide baby shower where people donate new or gently-used baby products to be used as motivation to seek pre-natal care.
According to Riggles, three out of 10 mothers in Houston receive little or no pre-natal care, five out of 10 in the local Hispanic community.