Georgia-2011-HR123-Introduced

By: Representatives Lindsey of the 54th, Jones of the 46th, Riley of the 50th, Oliver of the 83rd, and Wilkinson of the 52nd

Declaring February 7, 2011, as March of Dimes Georgia Chapter Day at the state capitol; and for other purposes.

WHEREAS, millions of Americans, including many Georgians, are impacted annually by birth defects, many of which are caused from premature births; and

WHEREAS, the March of Dimes was established in 1938 by President Franklin Roosevelt as an effort to help save America's youth from polio and was based upon the premise that people can solve problems if they work together; and

WHEREAS, President Roosevelt created a partnership of volunteers and researchers, who helped create the Salk vaccine for the elimination of polio; and

WHEREAS, the vision and mission of the March of Dimes greatly changed in the 1960's through the work of Dr. Virginia Apgar, an obstetrical anesthesiologist best known for developing the Apgar Score system which is used to evaluate the physical condition of newborns at birth, changing the organization's focus from curing polio to preventing birth defects and other infant health problems; and

WHEREAS, the March of Dimes informs expectant parents on choices they can make to increase their chances of having a healthy baby through education programs in areas such as prenatal testing and nutrition during pregnancy; and

WHEREAS, the March of Dimes and its many dedicated volunteers work tirelessly raising funds through various initiatives, including its March for Babies, which helps fund programs for pregnant women and babies; and

WHEREAS, through partnerships with communities and businesses, the March of Dimes has saved millions of babies over the past 73 years and looks forward to a time when all babies are born healthy; and

WHEREAS, it is abundantly fitting and proper that the outstanding accomplishments of this distinguished organization and its volunteers be appropriately recognized for their work on helping pregnant women and babies and their fight against the causes and incidents of premature births.

NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES that the members of this body commend the March of Dimes and its selfless volunteers for their past, present, and future work on behalf of mothers and babies in this state, throughout our nation, and around the world and recognize February 7, 2011, as March of Dimes Georgia Chapter Day at the state capitol.

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the Clerk of the House of Representatives is authorized and directed to transmit an appropriate copy of this resolution to the March of Dimes Georgia Chapter.