The March Begins
The nationwide crusade against poliomyelitis (polio) began at Warm Springs, Ga., a spa where Franklin D. Roosevelt first went in 1924, seeking the therapeutic effects of the warm spring waters. Other polio victims followed his example. In 1926, Roosevelt purchased the whole property and, a year later, with the help of his former law partner, Basil O'Connor, established the nonprofit Warm Springs Foundation.

During the Great Depression, the Georgia Warm Springs Foundation, in need of funds, started to appeal to the general public. Initially, money was raised through an annual "President's Birthday Ball," with FDR and a variety of celebrities participating.

In January 1938, alarmed by decades of worsening polio epidemics and the terrible toll the virus was taking on America’s young, President Roosevelt established the National Foundation for Infantile Paralysis. The National Foundation emphasized the nationwide significance and non-partisan character of the polio crusade. FDR believed that people could solve any problem if they worked together. Comedian Eddie Cantor coined the phrase "March of Dimes" (playing on the popular newsreel feature "The March of Time"), appealing to radio listeners all over the country to send their dimes directly to the White House. The campaign proved to be hugely successful. The National Foundation officially changed its name to the March of Dimes in 1979.

The Search for a Vaccine
Over the next 17 years, the National Foundation focused on funding research to develop a vaccine against polio. While researchers worked tirelessly in their labs, volunteers helped polio victims and their families around the country.

In 1948, with funding provided by the March of Dimes, Dr. Jonas Salk was able to grow the three known types of polio virus in his lab and eventually to develop an experimental killed-virus vaccine.

In the summer of 1952, Dr. Salk tested the vaccine on children who'd already recovered from polio. Following vaccination, the level of polio antibodies in their blood increased. The next step was to try it on volunteers who had not had polio–including himself, his wife, and the couple’s children. The volunteers all produced antibodies; none got sick.

The following year, Salk’s initial findings were published in The Journal of the American Medical Association. In 1954, nationwide testing of the vaccine commenced. Nearly 2 million school children, America's Polio Pioneers, took part in these field trials, the largest peace-time mobilization of volunteers in U.S. history. The results of these field trials were clear. Statistics showed that the Salk vaccine was 80-90 percent effective in preventing polio. In the next four years, 450 million doses of the vaccine were administered and it became a standard fixture among childhood immunizations. Later, in 1962, an oral polio vaccine, developed by Dr. Albert Sabin, with funding from the March of Dimes, was licensed.

A Unique Place in History
The March of Dimes occupies a unique place in American history. Its efforts to provide care for the victims of polio while aggressively working to develop vaccines against it, represents the first large-scale, nationwide biomedical initiative, led by a charitable organization. It also helped make the volunteer movement an integral part of the fabric of American life.

Before the development of the polio vaccines, an estimated 50,000 people in the United States were affected by polio each year. As a result of March of Dimes efforts, virtually all babies now receive the Salk vaccine to prevent polio and there has not been a new case of the disease in the Western Hemisphere since 1991. In 2001, the World Health Organization reported just 480 cases of polio worldwide and hopes to declare the world polio-free by 2005.

In collaboration with the Warm Springs Institute for Rehabilitation, March of Dimes Global Programs co-sponsored a symposium on post-polio syndrome (PPS) at Warm Springs, Georgia on May 19-20, 2000. More than 20 experts from five countries presented information at the symposium. Two reports derived from the conference: a primer for medical care providers on best practices in diagnosis and care; and a brochure for polio survivors that provides similar information in lay terms. Both reports have been published and widely distributed through the assistance of the International Polio Network, a St. Louis-based organization that assists and coordinates information for post-polio support groups. In addition, the American Academy of Neurology is working closely with the March of Dimes, in cooperation with the American Academy of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation and several allied health care professional organizations, to develop practice guidelines for PPS.

Since 1958, the March of Dimes has been funding cutting edge research and innovative programs to save babies from birth defects, premature birth and low birthweight.