Creek student is a March of Dimes hero

By Donna Hales
Phoenix Staff Writer

April 26, 2009 01:07 am

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A 10-year-old Muskogee boy has been chosen as 2009 Muskogee County March of Dimes Ambassador and is up for the job.
Jared Town, “but my friends call me Sergeant Major,” already is a proven politician, salesman, events planner and fundraiser.
He was the top youth fundraiser in Oklahoma last year for the March of Dimes — with $4,700. His goal this year is $5,000, but he really wants to raise more than that, so he said he needs Muskogee residents to help him.
Saturday, he was conducting a bowling fundraiser at Green Country Lanes on South York Street.
His father, Tim, who was out-of-state in connection with his job last week, stayed up 32 hours in order to be at the event. He arrived back in Muskogee with a little more than an hour to spare Saturday morning.
Jared has the same dedication as his father.
In March, after arriving in Muskogee at 2 a.m., from Louisiana to attend his maternal grandfather’s funeral, Jared was present at a skating rink fundraiser here he’d planned for the March of Dimes. He pulled in about $500 with 120 kids present.
“Ten years ago, God used the March of Dimes to save my life,” Jared states in a letter on his Web site. “I was born eight weeks early, weighed 3 pounds and 7 ounces, had a cleft in the top part of my mouth, brain hemorrhages, heart murmur and many other obstacles to overcome. My family was afraid I might die. But God and I had other ideas.”
He’s had eight surgeries.
“Sgt. Major” also has Chronic Tic Disorder from being born premature. Physicians have said he could develop Tourette syndrome and will know by the time he hits puberty.
“It’s hard to quit ticing because I just randomly do it,” he said. “It doesn’t stop me from riding my four-wheeler, bike or playing with my brother TJ and friends Zach and Joe.”
His dream is to become a U.S. Army Golden Knight and to see the cure of premature birth and birth defects.
He says the March of Dimes helps raise money to develop new medicines so many babies like him won’t die.
He’s been underweight, under siege and underdeveloped — but he’s never been an under achiever.
His folks recently received a letter that he’s the top kid in his class at Creek Elementary.
Jared also has become friends with the men working in the Army recruiting office at Arrowhead Mall.
They have March of Dimes cans on their desks to collect money. Jared checks the cans every so often by shaking them. He recently told one of the guys there, “You really need to start working on this.”
Jared wants to be the top youth fundraiser in Oklahoma again this year — but he also wants to be the top in the nation.
“So, please help me raise money to develop medicine that fits babies’ needs,” he says on his Web site. “You never know who you may help, but it feels good to know that you’re a hero.”

You can help
Jared Town and his family will be walking for the March of Dimes on May 16 and are encouraging individuals and groups to participate.
The 2009 Muskogee County March For Babies, presented by Georgia-Pacific’s Angel Soft & Sparkle Paper Products, will be May 16 at Muskogee Civic Center.
Registration is at 9 a.m., and the walk begins at 10 a.m.
Information: 742-0333.
Checks, payable to March of Dimes, may be sent to Jared Town, at 2952 S. Woodland Road, Muskogee, OK, 74403.
To visit his Jared’s Web site, go to www.marchforbabies.org/JaredTown

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