As the Nassau County honorary chairwoman for the March of Dimes WalkAmerica, I am very pleased to be a part of this wonderful organization that has helped save millions of babies from birth defects, low birth weight and death.

Town of Hempstead employees have been raising money for the March of Dimes for more than eight years. Participating in this fundraising event has united town employees in a profound way. They are enthusiastic about working together for this worthwhile cause and I would like to invite town residents to join in the effort.

For over 65 years, the March of Dimes has been raising funds to support cutting edge research and innovative programs that help save babies' lives. One area where they have made a dramatic positive impact is in the prevention of neural tube birth defects (spina bifida). The March of Dimes has taught the public that taking folic acid while pregnant helps prevent spina bifida. This year also marks the 50th anniversary of the Salk vaccine. With March of Dimes funding, Dr. Jonas Salk's discovery virtually eradicated polio in the United States.

The March of Dimes is in the midst of a five-year campaign to fight prematurity. I am looking forward to playing a role in that effort. Every year more than 470,000 babies in the United States are born prematurely, nearly half for unknown reasons. One of the many goals of their campaign is to assist health care practitioners in improving prematurity risk detection by addressing risk-associated factors and by educating pregnant women and their families on how to recognize signs of pre-term labor.

WalkAmerica is the March of Dimes' largest fundraiser. The walk is fun and has helped save hundreds of thousands of babies from premature birth and other health problems.

This year the walk is Sunday, May 1, at 9 a.m. (check-in begins at 8 a.m.). The Town of Hempstead team will be walking at SUNY Old Westbury, one of four locations for the walk on that date. Any residents interested in joining me and the town team can call the March of Dimes at 496-2100 or visit www.walkamerica.org. I hope town residents will join us in helping to give babies a healthy start and use their feet to give premature babies a hand.