Dear Editor:
I knew we could depend on the kind people of Hoboken to come through again! Thanks to the many generous people in the Hoboken area, you helped the 2001 Jerry Lewis MDA Labor Day Telethon raise a record of $56,780,603 in contributions and pledges.
Across the country, nearly a million volunteers, including hundreds of celebrities, donated their time on Labor Day weekend to help people of all ages with neuromuscular diseases, including many families in your community. I applaud the people of Hoboken for phoning in pledges to the Telethon and for so generously supporting MDA programs throughout the year, such as Shamrocks Against Dystrophy, MDA Lock-Ups and fire fighters’ Fill-the-Boot drives, to name a few.
Thanks to you, MDA is able to maintain a network of 230 clinics nationwide. Children and adults with muscle-wasting disorders can receive the best possible care from a team of medical experts. You also help enable MDA to sponsor worldwide research seeking treatments and cures for these devastating disorders.
For more information on how to get involved with our mission of hope and help, call your local MDA office or MDA national headquarters at (800) 572-1717. You can also visit our website at www.mdausa.org.
Jerry Lewis
MDA National Chairman