Who We Are

In 1949, in an effort to find a cure for the polio virus, mothers across Canada joined a North America-wide fundraising effort. These dedicated volunteers, known as the Marching Mothers®, went door-to-door collecting donations of ‘just a dime’ to donate to the Canadian Foundation for Poliomyelitics (sic) for research for a cure to polio.

In 1951, the Canadian Foundation for Poliomyelitics was granted use of the name ‘Ontario March of Dimes’.  Funds raised went to support research into the cure for polio.

In 1955, the polio vaccine created by Dr. Jonas Salk proved effective in limited test trials. With the threat of polio greatly diminished, Ontario March of Dimes began funding assistive devices for people who had contracted the polio virus, as well as providing programs focused primarily on rehabilitation and job training for polio survivors. Click here to learn more about the history of March of Dimes.

By the early 1960s, the organization shifted its mandate to serve the broader needs of all adults with physical disabilities, regardless of whether the disability was a result of a disability at birth, the polio virus, an accident, or even due to aging.

 In 2006, Ontario March of Dimes looked to expand its service offering to people with physical disabilities outside of Ontario and the name ‘March of Dimes Canada’ was registered. The robust offering of programs and services that were offered under Ontario March of Dimes (in Ontario) since the early 1960s have been gradually expanded and offered throughout the country under March of Dimes Canada. Click here to see the progress of offering more programs and services by province.

Ontario March of Dimes has four subsidiaries to meet the various needs of the community: March of Dimes Canada, Ontario March of Dimes Non-Profit Housing Corporation (NPHC), OMOD Independence Non-Profit Corporation, Rehabilitation Foundation for Disabled Persons Inc., U.S..  Ontario March of Dimes and March of Dimes Canada issue a consolidated annual report and financial statements each year. The annual reports and financial statements for the subsidiaries are reported separately and are available online.