For more than 50 years, the March of Dimes has been fighting to prevent birth defects and other leading causes of infant death and disability. As the leading nonprofit for baby health, this national/grassroots organization focuses intently on moms and their needs before, during, and after pregnancy.

"Our goal is to support programs that help more babies be born healthy, and help those who are born prematurely or with birth defects to survive and thrive," said Dr. Jennifer Howse, President of March of Dimes.

PaperChain and member community newspapers have partnered with March of Dimes since 2002, generously dedicating advertising space to March of Dimes messages and PSAs, valued at millions of dollars. As we enter into our eighth year of working together to save babies' lives, let's reflect upon the March of Dimes successes that PaperChain members across the country can be proud of:

- Research: The March of Dimes is funding approximately $100 million in biomedical research, helping to support 466 scientists in the United States, Canada, and 10 other countries. This includes $4.3 million committed to Prematurity Research Initiative grants in 2007.

- Community service - March of Dimes chapters award hundreds of grants each year to local organizations focused on maternal and infant health issues such as teen pregnancy, smoking, and sudden infant death syndrome.

- Education: When it comes to getting moms the resources they need, the March of Dimes is a one-stop source. The web site is packed with practical information, plus the latest medical and scientific research findings. Questions can be emailed and answered in both English and Spanish by health specialists, and expectant moms can get daily text messages containing health tips. A podcast series makes health topics available on demand. There's a fun online scrapbooking activity, too.

- Advocacy - At the federal and state levels, the March of Dimes seeks to improve access to health coverage for all babies, children, and women of childbearing age, and to increase federal support for prematurity-related research.

Thanks to the efforts of the March of Dimes and its partners, 88 percent of all babies born in the U.S. live in states that now require newborns to be screened for life-threatening metabolic disorders - but much more needs to be done.

- NICU families - The March of Dimes NICU Family Support© project has expanded to sites in all 50 states, the District of Columbia, and Puerto Rico, reaching more than 40,000 families in 2007 with information and comfort as they coped with having a sick or premature baby in newborn intensive care.

- Fundraising: For the last 25 years, the March of Dimes has partnered with Kmart and 16,000 other corporate and family teams for its premier annual fundraising event, March for Babies. In 2008, this event is expected to top $116 million nationwide.

To find out more about how the March of Dimes helps moms and babies, visit marchofdimes.com or nacersano.org.

Photo: From left to right - Loren Colburn, Treasurer of PaperChain; Dan Holmes, Chairman of PaperChain and Dr. Jennifer Howse, President of March of Dimes