It’s 7:30 on a cold Saturday morning. About 4,000 people have gathered at Seahawks Stadium with two things on their minds: finish a 10-kilometer walkathon, and raise money for prematurely born babies.

Among the thousands of people are moms and dads with their kids in strollers, senior citizens, young adults with their dogs, and about 60 Asian, Hispanic and departmental fraternity and sorority students from UW.

“I’m pumped and ready to run the whole thing,” said Marisa Wang, a senior and a member of the Asian sorority Alpha Kappa Delta Phi.

The members from the United Greek Council (UGC) laced up their running shoes last weekend and formed the largest team from UW to participate in the March of Dimes’ annual Walk America for Healthy Babies Walkathon. The group collected more than $3,000 in the event.

Ruth Gonzalez, vice president of the Hispanic sorority, Interested Ladies of Lambda Theta Alpha, coordinated the group’s participation in the event as a bonding time between members of the UGC.

The UGC is a coalition of students that formed last spring acting as an official umbrella organization for those Greek-lettered organizations that are not affiliated with any other organizations. The council consists of several Asian, Hispanic and departmental fraternities and sororities that seek the opportunity to interact and have the same recognition as typical fraternities and sororities.

“Through the UGC, we are trying to empower ourselves (the non-traditional Greek houses) by bridging the different social groups together,” said Andrew Jiang, president of the UGC and a member of the Asian fraternity Lambda Phi Epsilon.

The March of Dimes is a national voluntary health agency with a mission to improve the health of babies by preventing birth defects and infant mortality. Founded in 1938, the March of Dimes funds research, community services, education and advocacy programs to save babies.

The organization raised an unprecedented $214 million last year to help save babies. Of that amount, volunteers raised $89.4 million — more than half its entire income — by marching one by one in its walkathons, according to Christi Loso, director of market and communications of the organization’s Washington-state chapter.

“Each year, more than 460,000 babies are born too soon and no one knows what causes half of those premature births,” she said.

Loso added the overall rate of preterm birth is 11.9 percent — the highest rate ever reported in the United States. According to the March of Dimes’ Web site, there has been a 27 percent rise in the rate of preterm birth in the United States since 1981.

For Chantee Klann, a senior and member of the engineering sorority of Phi Sigma Rho, her participation in the walkathon was motivated to help for a number of reasons — some of them personal.

“I fully support the March of Dimes and I am glad to be able to do something to help save the lives of babies,” said Klann. “I walk in honor of my dad.”

Klann’s father was born a premature baby.

Howie Kim, a sophomore and member of Lambda Phi Epsilon, said that it was important and necessary for him to participate in the event.

“If it weren’t for the March of Dimes, some of my good buddies would not be here,” he said.

Other students enjoyed the walkathon despite being physically exhausted.

“I got only three hours of sleep last night,” said senior Leslie Tutol.

Tutol was committed in coming to the fund-raiser. Her mother works at Swedish Health Services — which takes care of many premature babies in the Puget Sound area — and knows how “devastating” premature births can be to families.

By noon, all participants returned to Seahawks Stadium from the six-mile walkathon. Participants were rewarded with free food and prizes.

“We had so much fun and definitely will be involved again next year,” said Gonzalez.

“Hopefully, we can raise even more money.”