CC - Agendas - City Council - WORKSHOP - 8/17/2010

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PROCLAMATION "March for Babies Day" September 11, 2010 Whereas, the mission of the March of Dimes is to improve the health of babies by preventing birth defects, premature birth and infant mortality; and Whereas, premature birth is the leading cause of newborn death; and Whereas, in 2007, more than 520,000 babies born in the U.S. were born preterm, and premature birth is increasing at an alarming rate; and Whereas, in an average week in Arizona, 239 babies will be born prematurely and 12 with die before their first birthdays. One in eight babies born in Arizona is born more than three weeks before they are due; and Whereas, babies born prematurely are at higher risk for lifelong disabilities and chronic illnesses including cerebral palsy, vision and hearing impairment, physical and mental disabilities and respiratory conditions such as asthma; and Whereas, there is no known reason why about 50 percent of these babies are born too soon. The March of Dimes is determined to find answers to reduce the rate of preterm births; and Whereas, research breakthroughs funded by the March of Dimes, such as surfactant treatment to help preterm babies with underdeveloped lungs to breathe, are already saving the lives of countless babies who were born prematurely; and Whereas, the March of Dimes funds education and programs across Arizona to increase awareness of the warning signs of preterm labor, and provides grants for programs to improve birth outcomes; and Whereas, the March of Dimes has a 70-year history of success in funding research to improve public health, starting with the development of the polio vaccine that has eradicated the threat of the disabling and deadly virus in the U.S. and nearly every other part of the world; and Whereas, Prescott volunteers and contributors have played an important role in helping to give Arizona's babies the best chance for a healthy start in life by supporting the March of Dimes. NOW THEREFORE, I, Marlin D. Kuykendall, Mayor of the City of Prescott, Arizona, do hereby declare September 11, 2010 as: MARCH FOR BABIES DAY IN WITNESS THEREOF, I have hereunto set my hand and caused the Seal of the City of Prescott to be affixed this 17th day of August 2010. MARL . KUYKEND L, MAYOR City of Prescott ATTEST: