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Readers who grew up before or during the 1950’s will remember the universal fear of poliomyelitis (polio, also known as infantile paralysis) and how the epidemic affected daily life for children, particularly in the summertime. Whether made to wear bags of garlic or avoid public swimming pools, most people have memories of frantic parents willing to try anything to ward off the disease. Therefore, we all can also remember the joy at Jonas Salk’s discovery of the vaccine that did indeed bring the beginning of the end to the suffering. The victory over polio can be credited, in large measure, to the determined fundraising of millions of volunteers and to their efforts at making the vaccine trials a success.

The organization that spearheaded the fight against polio was the March of Dimes. By 1958, the organization faced a unique but happy problem: it had met its mission. Once dedicated to wiping out polio, the March of Dimes refocused its energies on combating birth defects, premature birth and low birthweight - the mission it still holds today.

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