Volunteer Center Joins Forces With Spina Bifida Association of Alabama to Spread Word on Prevention
The Volunteer Center of Madison County, in observation of Spina Bifida Awareness Month, is searching for volunteers to help spread the word about Spina Bifida prevention.
Huntsville, AL (PRWEB) October 8, 2007
The Volunteer Center of Madison County, in observation of Spina Bifida Awareness Month, is searching for volunteers to help spread the word about Spina Bifida prevention.
Trish Switzer, president of the Spina Bifida Association of Alabama and the parent of a daughter with Spina Bifida, is always on the lookout for assistance with education programs. "Parents of children with Spina Bifida are the best advocates and educators, but they're so busy that sometimes they just can't do much more."
Switzer's main message? Women of childbearing age should take folic acid supplements BEFORE they get pregnant. According to the Spina Bifida Association of America, the exact cause of Spina Bifida is not known, but genetics and environmental factors are involved. Daily consumption of the B-vitamin, folic acid, prior to pregnancy reduces the occurrence of Spina Bifida by up to 70 percent.
Switzer said the perfect candidates for volunteers to educate people about Spina Bifida prevention include health-care workers and "just about anybody who's willing to learn about the problem and help others learn about it."
Spina Bifida is a lifelong birth defect in which the spine has not closed completely. One out of every 1,000 newborns in the United States has it, according to the SBA of America. While most babies born with Spina Bifida 30 years ago died, 80 to 90 percent of infants born with the birth defect today live. Many go on to lead successful and productive lives. The effects of Spina Bifida vary widely from individual to individual; it is a medically complex birth defect affecting the orthopedic, urologic and central nervous system.
If you would like to volunteer with the SBA of Alabama, please contact The Volunteer Center at (256) 539-7797.
The Volunteer Center of Madison County is the premier connection between volunteers and community needs. We partner with the community to mobilize volunteers and provide solutions to local challenges. We build the capacity of partner agencies - United Way and Combined Federal Campaign - to involve and manage volunteers and to address local needs through volunteering. Created in 1969 as a clearing-house to link new volunteers with non-profit organizations, the Volunteer Center believes that only people can solve community problems.
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