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March of Dimes California Chapter Awards Grant to Radio Bilingüe To Help Improve the Health of Mothers and Babies.
Grant is One of Fifteen Awarded in 2005
(Fresno, California, February 15, 2005)~The March of Dimes California Chapter, whose mission is to improve the health of babies, is pleased to advance maternal and infant health in Fresno, Salinas and Imperial Counties by supporting Radio Bilingüe with a $24,500 community service grant. Radio Bilingüe’s Bebé Sano (“Healthy Baby”) health awareness radio campaign will target Mixtec women who are pregnant or of childbearing age that are considered high-risk due to their lack of access to prenatal care. The campaign will include various formats in Spanish and Mixtec, such as: one-hour live interactive talk shows, La Hora Mixteca, and educational and promotional messages. The campaign will inform Mixtec women about the Comenzando Bien program and about access to state and local maternal and child health care programs, such as: Medicaid, SCHIP and WIC. Radio Bilingüe will also conduct outreach efforts at local health events, engage in cross-promotional activities with March of Dimes grantee, Frente Indigena Oaxaqueño Binacional, and will collaborate with health agencies and community–based organizations.
In addition to awarding $30 million for biomedical research each year nationally, the March of Dimes also gives financial support to initiate community-based projects that hold promise to help reduce birth defects and infant mortality by addressing particular local needs. In 2005, $277,000 has been awarded to community agencies throughout Northern and Central California.
“We will use the March of Dimes grant as seed money to meet our objective of providing minority women, specifically Mixtec women, with information on the importance of prenatal care and on ways to access available services,” said Hugo Morales, Executive Director of Radio Bilingüe.
In Fresno, Salinas and Imperial Counties a review of state and local health statistics and service gaps determined that mothers and babies would benefit from Radio Bilingüe activities to improve the health of mothers and their babies,” said Claudine Torfs, Chair of the March of Dimes Program Services Committee in Northern California. "We are pleased that our successful fundraising efforts, such as WalkAmerica, make it possible for us to support new, locally focused efforts to help babies be born healthy."
Radio Bilingüe is a network of five full-power FM radio stations reaching California’s main agricultural valleys. Radio Bilingüe has been designated as the National Latino Public Radio service of the United States. Through its satellite service, Satélite Radio Bilingüe, the non-profit organization distributes news, information and musical programming to radio affiliates throughout the U.S., Puerto Rico and Mexico. For more information on Radio Bilingüe, visit the web site at www.radiobilingue.org.
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 and in 2003 launched a five-year campaign to address the increasing rate of premature birth. For more information, visit the March of Dimes web site at marchofdimes.com or its Spanish web site at nacersano.org. For more information on the annual March of Dimes WalkAmerica, visit the web site at walkamerica.org.