The MDA Labor Day Telethon

In 2011, the MDA Telethon will run during prime time television for 6 hours on the Sunday of Labor Day weekend. The new format will include two local segments, seven and eight minutes each, of local Telethon coverage each hour. Aspects of social media will also be included, with online posts and “tweets” being a part of the show, as well as a wide variety of entertainment.

The 2011 MDA Telethon will run on more than 150 television stations across the nation. Visit the MDA website to find the station in your area that airs the telethon. An estimated 250,000 volunteers across the country assist these local stations in telethon events. In 2010, the MDA telethon raised over 58 million dollars.

Since 1966, the Muscular Dystrophy Labor Day (MDA) Telethon has been entertaining us and raising funds for the Muscular Dystrophy Association. Funds go to support MDA services to the neuromuscular diseases community, including clinical services, research, advocacy, summer camps, public education, flu shots and more.

The first MDA telethon starred comedian Jerry Lewis and ran over Labor Day weekend on a single television station in New York. It was hugely successful, and raised over 1 million dollars for the MDA.

Since then, the telethon has become an annual Labor Day weekend event. Featuring Jerry Lewis and many other celebrity performers, the telethon brings together celebrities, businesses, organizations, and volunteers from around the country. In past years the telethon ran for more than 21 hours over Labor Day weekend. Almost every year, the telethon has succeeded in raising more money than it did during the previous telethon.

Maybe you are wondering what the MDA Telethon has to do with you. As a member of the neuromuscular disease community, you either have a neuromuscular disease or care for someone with neuromuscular disease. You know how these diseases affect people and their health. You hope for effective treatments and cures for those with neuromuscular diseases.

The MDA provides cutting edge treatment for those with neuromuscular disease. Through about 200 MDA clinics and 37 MDA/ALS clinics, anyone in the U.S. with one of the neuromuscular diseases covered by the MDA can be referred by their physician to receive treatment.

Across the world, the MDA funds more than 330 research projects. Researchers rely on these funds to study the mechanisms behind neuromuscular disease and to develop and test treatments for these diseases.

The clinics and research funded by the MDA require money to continue their work, as do the many other programs run by the MDA. As members of the neuromuscular disease community, we must lead the way in educating others about neuromuscular disease, and assisting the MDA in whatever way that we can.

Last year I helped at my local telethon event, including answering phones for donations and being interviewed by a local television station. This year, I will again be participating as a volunteer for my local event. I encourage you to get involved in supporting the MDA in whatever way you can, as well.

Resources:

Muscular Dystrophy Association (n.d.). 2010 MDA Telethon Photos. http://www.mda.org/telethon/ . Retrieved 6/17/11.

Muscular Dystrophy Association (2010). 2010 Telethon Stations. http://www.mda.org/telethon/FindYourStation.pdf . Retrieved 9/2/10.

Muscular Dystrophy Association (2010). The Jerry Lewis MDA Telethon. http://www.mda.org/telethon/2010Telethon/ . Retrieved 9/2/10.

Quest Staff (2011). MDA Labor DayTelethon 2011: Short, Snappy, Sensational. Quest, 18: 3. http://quest.mda.org/article/mda-labor-day-telethon-2011-short-snappy-sensational . Retrieved 9/2/10.

GET A SHAMROCK TODAY!