HOUSE RESOLUTION NO. 17
(By Delegate Compton)
[Introduced March 27, 2001; referred to the
Committee on Rules.]
Recognizing the many contributions of the March of Dimes Birth
Defects Foundation to the State of West Virginia.
Whereas, The March of Dimes was founded in 1938 by President
Franklin D. Roosevelt to raise funds through the efforts of
volunteers to support the development of a vaccine which virtually
has eliminated the crippling human toll of polio from the world;
and
Whereas, The March of Dimes brought together the power of
volunteers and the benefits of science against another even greater
challenge - birth defects, the nation's number one child health
problem; and
Whereas, The March of Dimes, for the past forty-five years, has
been a pioneer in saving babies from birth defects, low birth
weight and infant mortality through research, community programs,
education and advocacy; and
Whereas, West Virginia has a higher rate of low birth weight infants than the United States as a whole; and
Whereas, West Virginia has the highest rate of low birth weight
infants in the United States; and
Whereas, Assuring a healthy start in life for future children
depends on the efforts and commitment of all West Virginians;
therefore, be it
Resolved by the House of Delegates:
That the House of Delegates hereby commends the March of Dimes
Birth Defects Foundation for its many breakthroughs in improving
the health of babies by preventing birth defects and infant
mortality; and
Further Resolved, That the House of Delegates hereby
congratulates the March of Dimes for embarking on a Low Birth
Weight and Birth Defect Prevention Summit on April 5th to develop
a comprehensive plan to decrease West Virginia's incidence of low
birth weight infants and birth defects; and be it
Further Resolved, That the Clerk is hereby directed to forward
a copy of this resolution to the appropriate representatives of the
West Virginia State Chapter of the March of Dimes Birth Defects
Foundation.