Through years of focus on healthy pregnancies and babies, March of Dimes has been the catalyst for huge strides in research and aid of healthy births and prevention of premature births (births before 37 completed weeks of pregnancy).
According to the March of Dimes website, the organization was founded in 1938 by President Franklin Roosevelt; he created the National Foundation for Infantile Paralysis to fund research to stop the effects of polio on children as he himself had suffered polio as a child.
Through the organization’s efforts, polio declined, and the organization (also known as the March of Dimes) then focused its attention on the prevention of “birth defects and infant mortality.”
Dina Ray, state director of the Mississippi chapter of the March of Dimes, said she knows all too well the plight of the mother of premature babies.
“I am the mother of two preemies. When they were born prematurely and had so many tubes sticking out of them and looked so tiny and helpless, I felt anxious and scared,” she said. “If it were not for the March of Dimes, and the research they have funded, I do not know if my children would be alive today.”
Ray said March of Dimes has had a larger impact than is widely known.
“March of Dimes has funded 13 Nobel Prize winning researchers. Every person that has been born in this nation in the last 75 years has been affected positively by the March of Dimes’ work through the polio vaccine and newborn screening, and many of their lives have been saved as a result,” she said.
These ongoing prolific efforts of the March of Dimes require continued fundraising and sponsorship.
In both October and November, there are events in north Mississippi dedicated to providing funds for March of Dimes, such as the March for Babies on Oct. 13 in Meridian.
Lea Banks, Mississippi March of Dimes community director, said Bonita Lakes, home of this year’s Meridian walk, is a real hidden treasure in the state.
“I was so amazed by the beauty and tranquility that I went back a second time before I left at the end of the day on my visit,” she said.
Banks emphasized the relaxed nature of the walk, explaining that the walk is meant to be a fun event of celebration and should be a good time for participants.
Banks said the walk is jubilant rather than competitive.
“The walk is a celebration of everything we do in the community. It’s a fun day for all of us, families and kids of all ages walking around the lakes, just celebrating,” she said.
Kali Horman, sophomore communication major, has been participating in walks with March of Dimes for over six years.
She said supporting the organization through walks is enjoyable and for her, necessary because she is passionate about it.
“Everyone is getting out and enjoying each other’s company while helping to give premature babies the help they need and sometimes even giving them the chance at life,” she said. “I was a premature baby, and I like to know that the money I raise and the walks I participate in are helping other premature babies to get the medicine and the help they might need.”
In addition to the walks, Ray said another current event is Blue Jeans for Babies, which involves the sale of T-shirts that employees at some businesses can buy and wear in order to wear jeans to work.
“We are selling Mississippi State-colored T-shirts to benefit March of Dimes. If students would help get others to buy shirts, this could be a big help to support the March of Dimes in northern Mississippi,” she said.

While being interviewed Banks issued a charge to the students of MSU, asking they lead the north Mississippi campaign of support for March of Dimes, beginning to actively participate in the way Kali has.