Millions of families

Millions of families throughout the United States this month have received March of Dimes "‘mailers.”

If the millions on the receiving end of this gigantic mail operation coast-to-coast and in Hawaii and Alaska have not already done so, now is the time to return the familiar envelope with a donation to the county March of Dimes chapter, local leaders urged this week. The world’s largest voluntary health organization is seeking to prevent crippling diseases, with its sights set at birth defects and arthritis and at continued work in polio.

These mailers, which reproduce the campaign theme, “Prevent Crippling Diseases— Please Say Yes to the New March of Dimes,” were addressed in great part by selfless volunteers who, by combing through telephone and other directories, were able to “spot” just about every family in their county. Addresses of new homes, hot included in telephone books, were obtained by these volunteers from real estate boards, tax lists, from other official records, and from chambers of commerce

Hopefully, «ach of the 44 million families in the United States will have an opportunity to help prevent crippling diseases by contributing to the March of Dimes between now and Jan. 31.

The blue mailer contains an envelope with a pocket for a March of Dimes contribution by check or cash and with space for the donor’s name and address. A brief message addressed to “Dear Neighbor” explains the expanded program of The National Foundation, and elsewhere on the mailer a few health figures are given— for example, that birth defects cripple one out of every lfl babies in the United States; that arthritis and rheumatism afflict 11 million Americans; and that polio can still strike down any one of more than 85 million unvaccinated persons in the country. v

County chapter officials say

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