What is the March of Dimes
Signature Chefs Auction?

For the past 16 years, the Greater Hampton Roads March of Dimes has held a Signature Chefs Auction which has become one of the most high profile gourmet dining events in the area.

Money generated from this event is used to support the mission of the March of Dimes. We help moms have full-term pregnancies and healthy babies. And if something goes wrong, we offer information and comfort to families. We research the problems that threaten our babies and work on preventing them.

This year's event will be held on Sunday, October 18th, at The Founders Inn and Spa in Virginia Beach. More than 20 of the finest chefs in Hampton Roads will be presenting signature dishes and offering priceless auction packages.

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Why We Matter

In the United States, a baby is born with a birth defect every 4 ½ minutes.

In an Average Week in Virginia:

2,073 babies will be born.
248 babies will be born pre-term.
171 babies will be born with low birth weight.
15 babies will die before reaching their first birthday

>> March of Dimes website

Every 4 1/2 minutes a baby is born with a birth defect in the United States. In 2006, about 1 in 25 infants was born to a woman receiving late or no prenatal care in Virginia. Our work is too important to stop.

Issues such as the ones described above affect a multitude of families, regardless of their socio-economic and/or educational backgrounds.

The March of Dimes released the first Premature Birth Report Card in 2008. No state received an “A,” and only Vermont received a “B”. Nationally, the United States scored a “D”, based on a prematurity rate of 12.7% of all babies.

In 2007, the average medical costs for a preterm baby were more than 10 times as high as they were for a healthy full-term baby. The costs for a healthy baby from birth to his first birthday were $4,551. For a preterm baby, the costs were $49,033.

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