Students at the School of Discovery presented a $500 check to Alabama March of Dimes Senior Development Manager Ashley Gorum Friday during a presentation on the history and mission of the organization.

The funds were collected through a variety of efforts orchestrated by the school’s chapter of the Future Business Leaders of America (FBLA), led by School of Discovery teacher Crystal Boykin.

“School of Discovery has a long history with March of Dimes,” Boykin said. “But we have really pumped up the volume over the past few years.”

Before presenting the check, Boykin introduced Gorum to the students in attendance – she has worked with March of Dimes for the last seven years and previously worked with the American Cancer Society.

In a series of videos and power point presentations, Gorum explained to the students the importance of the organization’s work, especially its current effort to combat per-term births.

In Alabama, 1-in-9 children is born premature.

In Central Alabama, the rate is even worse, with 1-in-7 children being born pre-term.

Nationally, the rate is 1-in-10.

“We’re not doing a good job of helping our moms and babies,” Gorum said.

Gorum also told the students about recent advances at Washington University in St. Louis, where researchers have developed a method of producing 3D renderings of the uteruses of pregnant women, giving them an opportunity to better understand how and when contractions happen and thereby prevent many pre-term pregnancies.

“They have figured out how to notice contractions,” Gorum said. “That’s very exciting.”

Optimally, Gorum said, a pregnancy is supposed to last between 39 and 40 weeks, but many babies are born around 24 months and suffer a variety of problems as a result.

In fact, 50 percent of mothers who “do everything right” are still having premature babies.

“We know a lot of babies are having all sorts of issues,” Gorum said. “If we can figure out why it’s happening, we can find a way to stop it.”

March of Dimes is one of the only health organizations that has successfully achieved its original goal, which was the eradication of polio – scientists were able to develop a vaccine for polio based in part on funds contributed by the March of Dimes.

Over the last 12 years, FBLA chapters in Alabama have raised around half a million dollars for March of Dimes.