SpringfieldNewsSun.com

Springfield, Ohio — He was 9 months old when his grandmother first pulled him in a little red wagon during the annual March for Babies.

Betty Keller of Springfield was involved in March of Dimes for 20 years before grandson Jeremy was born with spina bifida or "cleft spine," a birth defect characterized by the incomplete development of the brain, spinal cord and/or meninges.

These days, the Miami Valley Chapter of March of Dimes holds a short meeting after every board meeting to glean inspiration from the now-20-year-old Keller, whose passion for the organization has earned him an appointment to the national youth board.

Those meetings are "either to find out how Jeremy Keller got something done or to congratulate him for something he's done," said board member David Lamb.

Keller, of Centerville and a Wittenberg University junior, has become an inspiration since he joined the organization's youth board, said Andrea Ashcraft, Dimes community director of the collegiate council groups.

After Keller joined the collegiate council, he helped form active March of Dimes chapters at the University of Dayton, Wittenberg, Wright State, Central State and Wilberforce universities.

He was appointed to the national youth board as one of the top 19 fundraisers in the country and is guiding Wittenberg's chapter in creating outreach programs for both students and the community. They hope to collect and lay out one mile of dimes (about $9,000) during this year's fundraising campaign.

"Jeremy has just picked up the ball and run with it," Lamb said.

"The primary reason I continued with this is because of the personal effect it has had on me, and my general interest in helping others," Keller said as he sat in Wittenberg's student union. The March of Dimes' mission is to help prevent birth prematurity and defects.

He intends to remain involved in the March of Dimes while he attends law school after graduation.

Contact this reporter at (937) 328-0347 or kmori@coxohio.com.