March of Dimes' annual March for Babies at Edora Park in Fort Collins on April 27

On April 27 at Edora Park in Fort Collins, hundreds of family and corporate team walkers will join together in the March of Dimes annual March for Babies — the nation’s oldest walk fundraiser honoring babies born healthy and those who need help to survive and thrive.

Registration begins at 9 a.m. with the 3.5-mile walk kicking off at 10 a.m. Participation in March for Babies will provide a memorable and fun day for the whole family including music, children’s games and other activities. To register for the event, visit www.marchforbabies.org.

“The gift of holding your tiny, 2 pound 14 ounce baby girl for the first time – knowing that despite her size and fragility she has every chance to grow into a healthy, thriving baby – can only be matched by holding her 2 pound 4 ounce twin sister the next day,” says Emily Dawson Petersen, mother to twins Nora and Lily who were born at 29 weeks. “In 2011, we couldn’t walk in the March for Babies. Instead, that day we walked out the doors of PVH, taking Nora and Lily home for the first time after 102 days in the NICU. This year, we are so blessed and honored to be able to walk in the March for Babies, remembering the gift of life that PVH and the March of Dimes gave our family.” Many of the treatments that Nora and Lily received while in the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU) are in large part thanks to the groundbreaking and lifesaving research March of Dimes has funded over the years.

Premature birth is the most urgent infant health problem in the U.S. today. It affects more than half a million babies each year, including one out of 10 babies born in Colorado. The March of Dimes is committed to funding research to find the answers to problems that continue to threaten the lives and the health of babies. Funds raised by March for Babies in Colorado help support prenatal wellness programs, research grants, NICU family support programs and advocacy efforts for stronger, healthier babies.