March of Dimes Awards $80,000 in Grants to Five LosAngeles County Community Organizations...

Business & News Editors

LOS ANGELES--(BUSINESS WIRE)--March 27, 2000

The Los Angeles division of the March of Dimes Birth Defects Foundation recently awarded more than $80,000 in grants to five Los Angeles County community organizations.

The March of Dimes provides

grants each year to not-for-profit community agencies, educational institutions, incorporated coalitions and state and local health departments to fund diverse programs designed to achieve the March of Dimes mission of improving the health of babies by preventing birth defects and infant death.

The recipients of the 2000 community grant awards are as follows:

The Children's Center of the Antelope Valley will use its $19,765 grant to support Early Connections, a program designed to assure prenatal services to pregnant teens, reduce premature births, increase birth weight, assist teen parents to engage newborns in a plan for health care, strengthen teen parenting skills and reduce the risk of child abuse by teen parents.

The Los Angeles Free Clinic received a $12,000 grant to improve access to reproductive health care, family planning, early prenatal care and primary medical and dental care for underserved populations in the Hollywood/Wilshire area.

My Sister's Keeper will use its $10,350 grant to implement a three-pronged domestic violence awareness and prevention strategy for at-risk women in South Central Los Angeles.

The University of Southern California's Norris Comprehensive Cancer Center and Hospital will use the monies from its $19,695 award to educate East Los Angeles high school students that consuming folic acid daily prior to conception can prevent devastating birth defects of the brain and spinal cord by up to 70 percent.

Westside Women's Health Center received a $20,000 grant to conduct aggressive outreach and subsequent monitoring of teen mothers-to-be in Santa Monica. The program aims to prevent pre-term labor and low birthweight, as well as enhance nutritional awareness and parenting skills among pregnant teens.

The March of Dimes is a national nonprofit organization 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 that save babies' lives.

Photos available upon request.