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Health & Fitness

Hundreds to Walk for Stronger, Healthier Babies at Quassy Amusement Park

On Sunday, May 4 at Quassy Amusement Park, hundreds of families and business leaders will join together to March for Babies—the March of Dimes walk honoring babies born healthy and those who need help to survive and thrive. Funds raised help support prenatal wellness programs, research grants, neonatal intensive care unit family support programs and advocacy efforts for stronger, healthier babies.  Kids will enjoy a bounce house, music, face painting, refreshments, and more. 

Leading the festivities will be the event’s Ambassadors, Fran and Heather Pentino of Southbury, along with their children Payton and Colton. They will share the story of Payton’s premature birth, and thank walkers for their commitment to the March of Dimes mission to give all babies a healthy start.  Payton was born six weeks too soon and weighed just 3 lbs. 13 oz.  She spent 30 days in neonatal intensive care unit before coming home. 

Their family was affected twice more by prematurity.  In 2009, they lost their son Gabriel at just 20 weeks gestation, and in 2012, pregnant with their third child, Heather was closely monitored as a high-risk pregnancy, had 17P progesterone shots for 19 weeks and was placed on modified bed rest at 20 weeks.  Even with all of the precautions and monitoring,  Colton was born four weeks early, but was healthy and able to come home right away.

Quassy Amusement Park is located at 2132 Middlebury Road in Middlebury. Registration begins at 10 a.m. and the event at 11 a.m.  To register visit marchforbabies.org/event/greaterwaterbury. Participants can also register on-site on May 4.  All walkers who raise $200 or more will receive an event t-shirt and those raising $350 or more will have the choice of a Macy’s or Kmart gift card.    Quassy is also offering an online carload special to benefit the March of Dimes on May 4th only.  Five dollars of every carload special sold will benefit the March of Dimes.

Greater Waterbury March for Babies is sponsored by Quassy Amusement Park, Lamar, 102.9 DRC-FM, and Kidtivity, and statewide sponsors NBC Connecticut and Comcast.  March for Babies is sponsored nationally by the March of Dimes number one corporate supporter Kmart, Macy’s, Famous Footwear, Cigna, Sanofi Pasteur, Mission Pharmacal, and United Airlines.

For more than 75 years, moms and babies have benefited from March of Dimes research, education, vaccines and breakthroughs.  Find out how you can help raise funds to prevent premature birth and birth defects by walking in March for Babies at marchforbabies.org. For the latest resources and information, visit marchofdimes.com or nacersano.org.  Find us on Facebook and follow us on Twitter.

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