AUBURN — Hundreds of families and business leaders will join together in the March of Dimes’ annual March for Babies on Sunday, May 1, at the Hilton Garden Inn Riverwatch It is the nation’s oldest walk fundraiser honoring babies born healthy and those who need help to survive and thrive.

Registration begins at 9 a.m.with the three-mile walk kicking off at 10 a.m. To register for the event in Lewiston/Auburn, visit www.marchforbabies.org.

Funds raised by March for Babies in Maine help support prenatal wellness programs, research grants, neonatal intensive care unit (NICU) family support programs and advocacy efforts for stronger, healthier babies.

The most urgent infant health problem in the U.S. today is premature birth. It affects more than half a million babies each year, with the number growing every day. This past November, the March of Dimes issued a Premature Birth Report Card, giving the nation a “D” and Maine the grade of “C.” The March of Dimes is committed to reducing this toll by funding research to find the answers to problems that continue to threaten the health of babies.

The Lewiston/Auburn March for Babies is locally sponsored by Central Maine Medical Center, The Lewiston Sun Journal, Hannaford, and The Hilton Garden Inn Riverwatch. “We’re so excited to have our sponsors on board to help us at a local level,” said Erin O’Connor Jones, State Director for the Maine March of Dimes chapter.

For the latest resources and information, visit marchofdimes.com or nacersano.org. Find them on Facebook and follow them on Twitter.