The name "March of Dimes" — a play on the contemporary radio and newsreel series, "The March of Time" — was coined by stage, screen and radio star Eddie Cantor. He inspired a nationwide fundraising campaign in the week preceding President Roosevelt's birthday on January 30, 1938. Lapel pins were sold for ten cents each; special features were produced by the motion picture studios and radio industry; and nightclubs and cabarets held dances and contributed a portion of the proceeds. Thousands of people mailed cards and letters, each containing a dime, to the White House. Cantor's appeal collected more than $85,000 in what the press called "a silver tide which actually swamped the White House."