Local March of Dimes team a benchmark for state
Morris Lilienthal with wife, Shannon, and son, Wyatt, at the 2014 March for Babies at Huntsville’s Bridge Street mall. (Contributed)
By Nick Sellers | Staff Writer
MADISON – A team with Madison ties for the upcoming March of Dimes walk in Huntsville on April 18 is looking to continue the same success in 2015 with its current drive to raise money for the cause.
The nonprofit March of Dimes, which aims to improve the health of newborns and reduce infant mortality, and its Huntsville chapter is hosting a March for Babies at the campus of Hudson Institute for Biotechnology near Research Park on the morning of April 18.
The walk will feature company and family teams walking to raise money, and Team Will, which was the top-raising team for the state of Alabama in 2014. The team was organized in 2013 by Morris Lilienthal, who lives with his family in East Limestone, practices law in Huntsville and is active with the Rotary Club of Madison.
“We had right at 40 people walk with us last year,” Lilienthal said.
Lilienthal’s stake with the organization is personal. In 2009, Morris and his wife, Shannon, lost a son, Will, three days after Shannon gave birth.
Shannon, who teaches sixth grade at Madison Elementary School, gave birth again a couple years later to Wyatt, a “happy, go-lucky,” kid today, as Morris put it. It was in 2013 that the Lilienthal started a team to remember Will.
“It’s kind of a labor of love, and it’s very therapeutic for us,” Morris said.
The team raised over $7,500 last year as family, friends and others close to the Lilienthals participated in the walk at Bridge Street. This year, the walk at HudsonAlpha will cover five kilometers, which almost amounts to three miles.
Maike Demaria, the director for the Huntsville division of March of Dimes, estimated around 450 participants last year.
“We are family-oriented and always have something for the kids,” Demaria said.
The walk will start at 9 a.m. on April 18 and will wrap up close to noon. Donations for Team Will can be made by going to marchforbabies.org, and more information can be found on the team’s Facebook page.
