Advocates for the Preeclampsia Foundation, a non-profit organization dedicated to reducing maternal and infant illness and death due to preeclampsia, a life-threatening disorder of pregnancy, will be participating in and raising money for the Foundation’s annual The Promise Walk for Preeclampsia™. The annual nationwide event will be taking place here in New Jersey at Oak Ridge Park in Clark on Sunday, May 18 at 10:00 a.m. The condition takes the lives of 76,000 mothers and 500,000 babies worldwide each year.
This will be the fourth annual Cranford-area walk, which has already attracted an unprecedented number of supporters with the goal of raising $25,000 dollars or more. The walk day will include a family-friendly walk, refreshments, raffle prizes, and opening ceremony speeches from Patrick, Cameron and Justin Dignan, this year’s Mission Family for the Cranford area walk, guest speaker Dr. Ed Wolf, a Managing Partner of New Jersey Perinatal Associates, and Congressman Leonard Lance as well as preeclampsia survivor and mother-daughter walk coordinator team Stephanie and Marissa Steiner.
“May is National Preeclampsia Awareness Month, deliberately chosen to coincide with Mother’s Day weekend,” explained Executive Director Eleni Tsigas. “Almost 300,000 women each year are affected by preeclampsia, with approximately 25 percent of those resulting in serious adverse outcomes to mother, baby or both.”
The support from the state of New Jersey has likewise been wonderful, with the receipt of local proclamations for Preeclampsia Awareness Month from NJ Governor Chris Christie and the NJ Senate, as well as from Brielle, Cranford, Clark, Glen Ridge, Livingston, Millburn, Montclair, Morristown, Scotch Plains, Springfield, Summit, Westfield, and Union.
This year’s local sponsors include: New Jersey Perinatal Associates, TD Bank, Contemporary Women’s Care, Saint Barnabas Medical Center, Ray Catena Mercedes of Union, Happy Family Brands, Dr. Matthew Iammatteo, Girl from Ipanema Spa (of Westfield and Summit), Summit Medical Group, and The Little Gym (of Cranford, Summit & West Windsor); national sponsors include BabyCenter and Perkin Elmer.
Visit www.promisewalk.org/cranford for specific information about the Cranford area Promise Walk and to register for the event. Non-walkers are encouraged to support other individuals or teams to help meet this NJ walk’s fundraising goals. Those interested in forming teams or participating individually are urged to register at the Promise Walk website, though walk-up registrations will be accepted.
