March of DimesFoundation

VIRGINIA CHAPTER

10128-A West Broad Street

Glen Allen, VA 23060

(804)968-4120

CELL (804)955-9538

PRESS RELEASE/ July 7, 2010

Manteo, NC:Megan Gray is the recent winner of two fundraiser incentive prizes – including a beach vacation - for the March of Dimes Virginia Chapter, which includes the Northeast North Carolina regions of the Outer Banks, Dare County, Elizabeth City, Hertford and Edenton. Ms. Gray won the Top Family Team CaptainAward and the Top Family Team Walker Award, raising over $11,000 for the foundation.

Gray, who resides in Manteo with her husband Mac, formed her March for Babies team, “Team Ivy,” to honor the couple’s 5-year-old son Dallas McKinley Gray IV, whose nickname is Ivy. The Grays first formed their Family Team in 2007, the year after son Ivy was born 16 weeks premature, weighing a tiny 1 lb. 8 oz. Ivy spent the first 138 days of his life in the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit, or NICU, fighting for his life.

In his NICU days, Ivy received surfactant treatment - developed through research funded by the March of Dimes - to help his tiny lungs breathe efficiently. Ivy had six surgeries while in the NICU and spent 10 weeks on the ventilator.

Although Ivy went home on August 30, 2006, he still struggles with the effects of premature birth. The courageous little boy has endured numerous corrective surgeries through the years, a feeding tube placement, shunt malfunctions and a hospital stay for an infection. Besides play time, Ivy’s week includes physical, occupational, speech and vision therapy. Though Ivy has Cerebral Palsy, visual impairment and severe developmental delays, these disabilities, says his mother, do not keep Ivy “from showing strength and courage in every way.”

“Ivy is an incredibly happy and active little boy who loves to laugh,” says Megan.

Because they feel the March of Dimes helped save their child’s life, the Grays have devoted much of the last four years to fundraising for the foundation, whose mission is to prevent premature birth, birth defects and infant mortality. In total, since they began Team Ivy in 2007, the Grays have raised over $27,000 for the March of Dimes’ Outer Banks March for Babies event, held this year on May 1. The Grays are also a March of Dimes Ambassador Family, sharing their story with their community and inspiring others to give to the foundation.

“Not a single day goes by that Ivy (photo on left) doesn’t melt hearts, proving to be a miracle over and over again,” said Megan. “We are forever grateful to the March of Dimes. Without the advances made in the treatment of premature babies, we would not have our amazing son.”

This year, as an incentive for our Family Teams, the chapter offered two top prizes. The Top Family Team Captain Incentive Prize is a Weekend Getaway provided by the Embassy Suite Hotel in Hampton, VA. Megan won this prize by leading the most successful Family Team out of nearly 700 Family Teams from across Virginia and Northeast North Carolina. Under Megan’s leadership as Family Team Captain, Team Ivy raised over $11,000 and fielded 53 walkers.

Megan also won the Chapter’s Top Family Walker Incentive Prize, which is a one-week vacation stay in an ocean-front condo in Ocean City, MD. Gray bested 2,136 other registered walkers to raise over $8,000 for her Family Team.