Memphis, Tenn., July 16, 2001 - The March of Dimes recently awarded a grant to Memphis Healthy Churches to establish a pre-natal and maternal education program called Celebrating Life. Although administered by Memphis Healthy Churches, the program will be a collaborative effort among the March of Dimes, Baptist Memorial Health Care Foundation and Christ Community Medical Clinic.

"We are so excited about this opportunity to improve maternal and child health in our community," said Scott Fountain, senior vice president of Baptist Memorial Health Care. "This grant will help us fulfill our mission of giving Mid-Southerners the tools they need to be proactive about their health."

Memphis Healthy Churches was established through a partnership between Baptist Memorial Health Care Foundation and Christ Community Medical Clinic and seeks to provide education and outreach to African-Americans by training representatives from participating churches as peer health educators.

The Celebrating Life program seeks to educate women about the importance of pre-natal care and provide them support to make informed choices. Information will be provided on a wide variety of topics including the importance of folic acid in preventing birth defects and how to properly care for a newborn.

The March of Dimes is a national voluntary health agency whose mission is to improve the health of babies by preventing birth defects and infant mortality. Founded in 1938, the March of Dimes funds programs of research, community services education, and advocacy to save babies. For more information, visit www.modimes.org.

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