Most people know that the March of Dimes works to prevent birth defects and premature births.
So what does the March of Dimes have to do with vaccines?
Why is the March of Dimes actually called the March of Dimes?
The March of Dimes actually got its start as the National Foundation for Infantile Paralysis. Established by President Franklin D. Roosevelt in 1938, that organization worked to support people with polio.
Eddie Cantor, a popular radio personality at the time, to help support the Roosevelt’s foundation, called for:
“a march of dimes to reach all the way to the White House.”
Over the years, they collected millions of dimes and helped support the research and development of the first polio vaccines.
More on the March of Dimes and Fighting Polio
- Why Do We Still Vaccinate If Polio Has Been Eliminated?
- The Myth That Polio Only Went Away Because They Changed the Way It Was Diagnosed
- Polio Pioneers
- Do You Remember Sabin Sundays?
- A History of the March of Dimes
- Facts about the March of Dimes
- Birthday Balls: Franklin D. Roosevelt and the March of Dimes
- Eddie Cantor
- March of Dimes Archives
- Dimes Raised for Polio