For decades, Temple University Ambler has been known as a location for the surrounding community and beyond to gather, whether it was for concerts great and small, environmental action and education or coming together for a common cause.

Organizations from the ALS Hope Foundation to the American Lung Association to Kisses for Kyle, the Sunshine Foundation and many others have made the campus a location where the community shows its hearts.

One of the largest charitable endeavors held on campus is the March of Dimes March for Babies. For 21 consecutive years, Temple University Ambler has served as the Eastern Montgomery County March of Dimes March for Babies host. 

Ambler Campus March of Dimes Committee member Michelle Morales has been an integral part of the event for 14 of those years.

"I have a personal connection with the March of Dimes and their mission. My son Jeffrey was born premature," she said. "Not being able to hold him right away, having to rush him to the NICU (neonatal intensive care unit) because he wasn't breathing on his own, that was excruciating. We were fortunate in that we were able to take him home when I left the hospital; many families aren't so lucky. For some families, the hospital is their lives for months or even longer."

Premature birth is the number one obstetric problem in the United States. To help reduce the staggering number of premature births, hundreds of heroes will be lacing up their walking shoes for the Eastern Montgomery County March of Dimes March for Babies 2019 on Sunday, April 28. Registration begins at 9 a.m. with the walk beginning at 10 a.m. in Bright Hall Circle.

The March of Dimes March for Babies at Temple Ambler has raised millions of dollars over the last two decades. In 2019, there will be about 1,000 heroes from 60 teams lacing up their walking shoes to help fight prematurity. The goal for 2019 is $275,000, according to Robin Moore, Development Specialist for the March of Dimes Southeast Pennsylvania-Southern New Jersey Region.

March for Babies is the March of Dimes' largest yearly fundraiser. Ambler Campus site walkers come from more than 100 companies, organizations, schools and families in the Ambler area.

Money raised during the walk often stays right in this area, Moore said.

"With so many teaching hospitals in the region, such as Abington and Thomas Jefferson, March of Dimes is able to help communities come together for our mission," she said.