DYLAN TAYLOR COLLIERS
MARCH OF DIMES: THE ORIGINS OF THE NAME March of Dimes is an organisation largely run by volunteers that has been funding research into a variety of birth defects, prenatal care and genetic causes for more than 80 years to date.
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MARCH OF DIMES The organisation began life with the aim of researching the treatment and prevention of polio and has evolved constantly since 1938.
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COMEDIAN EDDIE CANTOR
PRESIDENT FRANKLIN D. ROOSEVELT
The name ‘March of Dimes’ was coined by a supporter of the organisation, Eddie Cantor. Initially the foundation was known as the NFIP, or National Foundation for Infantile Paralysis. The phrase was first used by Cantor when discussing the possibility of getting radio shows in Hollywood to give 30 seconds of their time to an appeal for funding for the organisation, in commemoration of the annual Birthday Balls held for President Roosevelt’s birthday.
President Franklin D. Roosevelt, fondly known as FDR to much of the American public, founded the NFIP and was famously wheelchair-bound due to his own childhood battle with polio. The premise of the fundraising appeal was that if everyone across America sent in a dime, or even several dimes, the result would be millions of dollars raised to help disabled children across the nation.
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YOU CAN READ MORE about March of Dimes by visiting the blog of Dylan Taylor, former Colliers CEO.