Fresno State student Alicia Luna stands next to a poster
featuring baby photos of some volunteers of the March Of
Dimes’ March For Babies campaign.
Esteban Cortez / The Collegian

In the 1940s, President Theodore Roosevelt proposed an idea during his ‘Fireside Chats,’ which eventually became known as the March Of Dimes.

Roosevelt said that if everyone donated a dime, a cure for Polio could be found. Today, that campaign continues on and visited the Fresno State campus on Wednesday.

Fresno State President John Welty is the chairman for the Fresno County March of Dimes March For Babies, making the campus the ideal host site.

Arthur Montejano, a Fresno State student in the master’s program for sports psychology, is the only student who serves on the planning committee.

Many are already taking part in the campaign by forming teams.

“We have groups of faculty and staff, and student organizations who are forming their own teams and fundraising from there,” said Montejano.

A flier for the March For Babies Walk said there are two ways to participate: the first would be to become a team captain and form a team, or second, join an existing one.

Montejano said the goal is to raise $20,000 for research and prenatal care for premature babies.

Nine hundred communities take part in the March For Babies event to raise money for support programs that will help mothers have full-term, healthy pregnancies.

The Fresno March For Babies walk is scheduled for April 14 at Woodward Park. Details can be found at the March For Babies website, marchforbabies.org, or by scanning the QR Code to the right.