ADVISORY/March of Dimes to Honor Latino Leaders and America on September 12; Raise Awareness of Health Risks Latino Babies Face.

News/Assignment Editors

ADVISORY...for Thursday (Sept. 12)

--(BUSINESS WIRE)

WHAT:    March of Dimes to hold the seventh annual A Salud De Los
         Ninos Awards Gala to honor community leaders who have
         balanced their personal and professional lives and have
         positively impacted the Latino community. Funds raised help
         support March of Dimes programs such as Comenzando bien and
         Proyecto Salud Latina, which serve Latino families in
         Southern California.

WHO:     Honorees       - Doctor Fernando J. Guerra, Director, Center
                          For the Study of Los Angeles - Loyola
                          Marymount University
                        - Kathleen A. Torres, M.P.H.
                        - Renan Almendarez-Coello (el "Cucuy" de la
                          Manana)
                        - The De Cardenas family, founders and owners
                          of Cacique, Inc.

         Hosts          - Ruth Livier and Mauricio Mendoza, stars of
                          Showtime's "Resurrection Blvd."

         Special Guests - Aliza Lifshitz, M.D., "La Doctora Aliza" of
                          Univision and La Opinion
                        - March of Dimes Ambassadors, Alma V. Marquez
                          & Hector Herrera will share a personal story
                          about their daughter, Miquitzli, born at 25
                          weeks of pregnancy.
                        - Actress Carmen Zapata
                        - Special performance by the Los Angeles Music
                          & Art School Youth Chorus
                        - Chief Greg Gibson, Los Angeles Fire
                          Department, who will deliver the invocation

WHEN:    Thursday, September 12
         6:00 PM         -- Reception
         7:00 - 8:00 PM  -- Dinner, Awards presentation and Chorus
                            performance

WHERE:   Millennium Biltmore Hotel
         506 South Grand Ave.
         Los Angeles, CA 90071

INFO:    The March of Dimes is a national, voluntary health agency
         whose mission is to improve the health of babies by
         preventing birth defects and infant mortality. Founded in
         1938, the March of Dimes carries out this mission through
         programs of research, community services, education, and
         advocacy. The Southern California Chapter serves more than
         22 million people, and has divisions in Greater Los Angeles,
         San Diego-Imperial County, Orange County, and the Inland
         Empire. For more information, please call 213/637-5050, the
         national Pregnancy & Newborn Health Education Center at
         888/MODIMES, or go to www.marchofdimes.com or
         www.nacersano.org.