When he was born almost three months early, Jon Paul Tijerino weighed only 1 pound, 9 ounces.
But 28 months later, he sat smiling in his stroller on Turlington Plaza with his parents, Wilfredo and Anna Marie, to thank the 1,100 people walking to prevent premature birth.
The fourth annual GatorWalk, which raises money for the March of Dimes, took place Sunday with about 30 UF organizations participating.
The five-kilometer walk, which kicked off at 1 p.m. on the plaza, reached its fundraising goal of ,100,000 - double the amount raised by the event in 2006, said Sarah Criser, the GatorWalk spokeswoman.
The Student Alumni Association raised the most money of any organization with about ,5,900, while Pi Beta Phi Sorority and Kappa Sigma Fraternity were the highest fundraisers of the Greek organizations, said Amanda Casciotti, GatorWalk director.
Paradigm Properties supported the event by providing a 12-month lease for a three-bedroom apartment to the individual participant who raised the most money.
The lease went to Julio Perez-Downes, a UF student and a GatorWalk director, who got a South Florida company to match the total amount raised by other walkers.
The theme of this year's GatorWalk, "Champions on the court, champions on the field, it's time to be champions for babies," encouraged UF students to take action against premature birth, said Betsy Trent, North Central Florida March of Dimes assistant division director.
Trent said the chances of having a premature baby are 33 percent greater now than 20 years ago, when many college students were born. Today, one in eight babies is born prematurely.
She said she thinks college students know they are walking for their future children's health.
Trent said Gainesville contributes about ,900,000 to the March of Dimes through events such as GatorWalk and Gainesville WalkAmerica. She said the goal for fundraising is ,1 million, which she believes will happen soon partly because of GatorWalk's success.
If every UF student raised ,100, she said, the fundraising potential of the event could be five times this year's level. She said she expects the level of fundraising to grow in the future.
Billy and Christine Donovan, honorary walk chairs for the event, were unable to attend, but UF First Lady Chris Machen was present to address the walkers.
Machen said her experience as a former neonatal intensive care unit nurse gave her an understanding of the pain families with premature babies experience.
"You could not be walking for a better cause," Machen said.
