The 2nd Annual March of Dimes Signature Chef Event raises money for premature birth research

WILMINGTON, NC (WECT) – The state of North Carolina received a grade of “D+” when it comes to preterm birth rates, with 10.7% of births occurring before 37 weeks of pregnancy.

It’s a statistic the March of Dimes wants to change through advocacy and policy change. March of Dimes conducts research and education on premature birth, infant and maternal mortality, and birth defects.

An event hosted by the organization on Friday featured several Wilmington chefs from restaurants and bars such as Osteria Ciccheti, Olivero, Mocksie Craft Cocktails, Nothing Bundt Cakes, Butcher’s Market and Bluewater Waterfront Grill. Attendees were able to purchase tickets to sample all of the food and participate in a silent auction.

The event raised a total of $155,000, surpassing the previous year’s total of $130,000. Event chairwoman Erin Kirk said the money will be used for some of her research.

“All the money goes to March of Dimes research and some policy things they do along with family meetings in the NICU,” Kirk said. “It’s a close-knit group. That’s why we want everyone to be involved.”

Ellison and Cullen Clark were the family ambassadors for Friday’s event. By sharing their story, they wanted to encourage people to donate to March of Dimes’ mission.

“Our daughter was born 12 weeks premature. She spent 105 days in our NICU and so we’re just thrilled to be able to share our story and let everyone here tonight be a little part of our journey and everything we’ve been through to get to this point said Ellison Clark. “We calculated it for tonight and in the two years our daughter has been home, she has been to 205 doctor and therapy appointments. So that’s her pediatrician and then all the therapies that she does. She has spent 4,860 minutes in physical therapy alone over the last two years.”

Ellison said she hopes to also raise awareness about maternal health through her conversations with participants.

“I had severe preeclampsia,” Ellison Clark said. “I have since learned that I have permanent kidney damage that will require me to see a kidney specialist for the rest of my life and that I cannot tolerate a future pregnancy. And I think that’s a big part that I also think is very important to raise awareness of that.”

In particular, Cullen Clark hopes to increase male interest in the issue and discusses the issues from a father’s perspective.

“It impacts fathers and it’s challenging to feel helpless and know there’s very little you can do as a father,” Cullen Clark said. “It’s something that I really think everyone should understand and try to do what they can to reduce the impact on our families in the community.”

WECT’s Kim Ratcliff hosted today’s event. You can find out more about March of Dimes on their website.

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