Elvis Presley would March for Babies!

Did you know that the March of Dimes has been around for 72 years and has been holding walk fundraisers for 40?? I love seeing the historic photos of the March of Dimes back in the day...it makes me feel like I'm playing a part in something HUGE! Something FDR, Frank Sinatra, Lucille Ball, Elvis Presley, Marilyn Monroe and Johnny Cash would be proud of. Allow me to share a little historical timeline, and you can feel that same sense of pride in what you're participating in.

1938 - President Roosevelt forms the National Foundation for Infantile Paralysis (now the March of Dimes) to organize scientific, volunteer, and fundraising resources in the fight against polio.
1938 - Comedian/actor Eddie Cantor started a radio fundraising campaign asking the public to mail dimes to President Roosevelt at the White House. The White House mailroom was flooded with 2,680,000 dimes! (Hence the name...March of Dimes.)

1949 - Dr. Jonas Salk was selected to lead vaccination development efforts.
1949 - Frank Sinatra joins the cause.

1950 - The "Mothers March" neighborhood coin collection drive begins with Grace Kelly as its spokesperson.

1955 - Salk vaccine is determined safe and effective; mass inoculations begin.


1956 - Elvis Presley is inoculated in the "Teens Against Polio" publicity campaign.
1958 - Marilyn Monroe hosts a March of Dimes fashion show fundraiser.

1959 - Louis Armstrong plays jazz for the March of Dimes.

1960 - March of Dimes begins to shift its focus to the prevention of birth defects and infant mortality.

Here are some other celebrities who lent a hand to the March of Dimes:

Lucy & Desi & their kids

Johnny Carson

The Man In Black - Johnny Cash

And some more recent March of Dimes developments:
1961 - March of Dimes researcher develops PKU test for newborns.
1970 - The first Walk fundraisers (now March for Babies) are held in Columbus, OH and San Antonio, TX.
1973 - March of Dimes researchers make the first direct connection between alcohol consumption and birth defects.
1976 - March of Dimes rallied to regionalize and increase the number of NICUs in the U.S.
1985 - March of Dimes-funded researchers develop surfactant to treat the lungs of premature babies and allow them to breathe.
1986 - March of Dimes researchers developed new techniques to perform surgeries on birth defects in the womb.
1994 - March of Dimes launches a folic acid awareness campaign to advise all women of childbearing age to take 400 micrograms of folic acid a day to prevent birth defects.
1997 - March of Dimes volunteers help to pass S-Chip legislation (state children's health insurance program).
2003 - March of Dimes launches Prematurity Awareness Campaign to address growing threat to infant health.
2007 - March of Dimes launches NICU Family Support Program in all 50 states.

(All images courtesy of the March of Dimes.)