MDA

The muscular dystrophy association has pledged one million dollars to the Salvation Army for Hurricane Katrina relief. Yesterday was the 39th anniversary of the first Labor Day MDA Telethon – broadcast from a single station in New York City. This year it’s being broadcast on about 200 stations across the country – including the WB Network Channel in Ft. Myers. Cheryl Kunkel is District Director for the SW Florida MDA.

“Labor day telethon for the mda is tradition – and we definitely have people who watch every year and reach into their pockets and help no matter what. We know the community always comes together for us. But we also figured that donations would be down – about by half – and they are. But we’re really hoping that the other half is going to hurricane relief.”

In 2004 the MDA Telethon raised almost 61 million dollars - nearly 600 thousand in Southwest Florida. Kunkel says all the money raised in the region stays here. The MDA provides support for about 300 families dealing with neuro-muscular disorders in the five county area. It also pay for medical research at the University of Miami.