Walk raises estimated $75,000

DeeDee Wall addresses the crowd with her husband, John, and son, Graham, by her side. Some ran full-tilt while others took a leisurely stroll Saturday.

The March for Babies wasn't a timed event and it didn't really matter how participants reached the finish line, even if some took some minor liberties with the five-mile course that had been laid out for them.

What mattered to organizers and the approximately 200 people who participated in the annual fundraiser for the March of Dimes was that all the money being raised will benefit the youngest among us.

The March for Babies event in Gaffney represented a kickoff of sorts for the Upstate March of Dimes, a 12-country region of the charitable organization that helps fund research into the prevention of premature birth and infant mortality, the medical treatment of premature babies, and health education programs for expecting mothers.

"The need has not diminished and we are still fighting to find what causes premature birth," said Kathy Shugart, executive director of the Upstate March of Dimes.

While the exact amount of funds raised through Saturday's march in Gaffney wasn't immediately known, this year's campaign in Gaffney was anticipated to have raised about $75,000 for the March of Dimes.

Since almost all of the March of Dimes' operations are run by volunteers, Shugart said 93 percent of all money goes exactly where it's needed. The March of Dimes' efforts can be particularly important to South Carolina, Shugart believed, as one in six South Carolina infants are born premature compared to one in eight on the national level.

Graham Wall weighed just 1 pound, 9 ounces when he was born and spent his first 107 days in an intensive care unit. On Saturday, the bubbly 2-yearold accompanied his parents, John and DeeDee, along with a dozen friends and family members all wearing matching Tshirts for their group walk in the March for Babies.

The Wall family raised $2,000 for this year's fundraiser.

Cherokee County Schools chipped in, too.

Corinth Elementary School raised $4,390 while Gaffney Middle School raised $4,533 and Grassy Pond Elementary raised $2,590.

Nestle and its workers raised a total of $15,003 for the march, while Bank of America and its workers raised $1,825.

Many of the teams that came to march Saturday wore team uniforms or T-shirts to set themselves apart. Among the teams was a group from Youngs Grove Baptist Church that has been participating for the past four years.

Not all of the participants in the walk have personal attachments to the issue, said Dr. Rick Cutchin, chairman of the Gaffney March of Dimes. But anyone can be impacted by it, he said.

One member of the local organization's board missed Saturday's event because his newborn child was born premature last week.