March of Dimes

Hello! We are the March of Dimes. Our story started a long time ago, in 1938. Back then, we had a different name. We were called the National Foundation for Infantile Paralysis. That’s a very long name, but our job was very important. We were started by the President of the United States at the time, a man named Franklin D. Roosevelt. He knew that we needed to work together to solve a big problem. This problem was a sickness called polio. Polio was very serious, and it especially affected children. It could make their muscles weak, which made it hard for them to walk, run, or even play with their friends. We were created to fight this sickness and help all the children who were suffering from it.

To fight polio, we needed money to help care for sick people and to pay for smart scientists to do research. But how could we raise it? The idea was simple but powerful. We asked everyone across the country to help by sending a small coin—a dime—to the White House. People listened! Children took dimes from their piggy banks, and grown-ups sent them in letters. So many dimes marched through the mail that people started calling our fundraising campaign the "March of Dimes." The name was so popular that it eventually became our new name! It showed that even a little bit from a lot of people can add up to do something amazing.

All of those dimes made a huge difference. The money we collected helped us pay for scientists who were working hard to find a way to stop polio for good. One of those scientists was Dr. Jonas Salk. He spent years in his lab, and with the support from the money people donated, he had a breakthrough. He created a vaccine! A vaccine is a special shot that teaches your body how to fight off a sickness before you ever get it. When the polio vaccine was ready, it was one of the happiest days in our history. Finally, children could get a simple shot to be protected from polio. They wouldn't have to worry about getting sick and being unable to walk or play.

After Dr. Salk’s vaccine was successful, our first big job was finished. Polio was no longer the scary sickness it had once been for families in our country. We could have stopped then, but we knew there were other ways we could help. We had learned so much about how to bring people together, how to support scientists, and how to help families. So, we decided to take on a new mission. We looked for another important health problem where we could make a difference. We changed our focus to helping mothers have healthy pregnancies and making sure that all babies are born strong and healthy.

Today, our work as the March of Dimes continues, but with our new mission. We help fund research to understand why some babies are born too early or with health problems. By learning more, we can find new ways to prevent these things from happening. We also provide support for families when they need it most. If a baby is born sick and has to stay in the hospital, we are there to help the parents and family through that difficult time. Our goal is for every mom to have a healthy pregnancy and for every baby to have the best possible start in life. Our story started with fighting one sickness, and now we work every day to give all babies a healthy future.