New Jersey Making Strides to Raise Awareness of Preeclampsia

Melbourne, FL – April 9, 2013 – 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 event, which happens around the country to support innovative research and raise public awareness about the warning signs of preeclampsia, will be taking place here in New Jersey at Oak Ridge Park (in Clark) on Sunday, May 19 at 10:00 a.m. 

The walk day will include a 5K walk, refreshments, raffle prizes, and opening ceremony speeches from Larry Bloomstein of Brielle (formerly of Livingston), this year’s Mission Family for the Cranford area Promise Walk, guest speaker Dr. Joseph Apuzzio, Director of Maternal & Fetal Medicine at University of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey (UMDNJ) and Chair of the NJ section of the American College of Obstetricians & Gynecologists (ACOG), as well as mother-daughter walk coordinator team Stephanie Steiner of Springfield and her thirteen-year-old Marissa, who are both preeclampsia survivors. Marissa has embraced her role as the youngest Promise Walk co-coordinator among 50 walk locations nationwide.

The Promise Walk for Preeclampsia, with the tagline “Making Strides, Delivering Hope,” makes a clear connection with the mission of the Preeclampsia Foundation – a “promise” to find a cure, support families, and ensure education and awareness for all pregnant women.

This will be the third annual Cranford-area walk, which has already attracted an unprecedented number of supporters with the goal of raising $30,000 dollars toward helping women and their infants who suffer from the devastating effects of preeclampsia. This year’s local sponsors include: TD Securities, Saint Barnabas Medical Center, UMDNJ, Happy Family Brands, and the Bloomstein family in memory of Lauren McCarthy Bloomstein; national sponsors include BabyCenter, ViaCord by Perkin Elmer, Britax (BOB) and Creative Counsel.

BRITAX, a premier manufacturer of car seats, strollers and baby carriers and known for safety, has been named a national "Diamond" sponsor for the 2013 Promise Walk for Preeclampsia. BRITAX and BOB strollers and car seats will be given away to the top two individual fundraisers at the Cranford, NJ Promise Walk.  This valued partnership allows the Preeclampsia Foundation to advance its education and research programs.

“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 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, Clark, Livingston, Millburn, Morristown, Scotch Plains, Springfield, and Union.

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 the 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 at each of the sites.