Community Corner
48th MDA Telethon Kicks Off Tonight on KGO-TV
The national broadcast will feature thanks to Alameda firefighters and firefighters nationwide for all they do for MDA and their communities.
From an Alameda Firefighter's Association press release:
The Muscular Dystrophy Association’s (MDA) nationally broadcast telethon, one of America’s longest-standing and beloved fundraising and entertainment events, will return this Labor Day weekend, Sunday, September 1 at 9 p.m. on KGO-TV Ch 7 (ABC).
Last year, the format of MDA's Telethon changed from a two-day marathon to a more modern production.
The MDA “Show of Strength” Telethon also has a new home – the ABC Television Network.The two-hour broadcast will air on ABC stations across the country.
This entertainment event will raise funds and awareness to support MDA’s mission to help children and adults affected by progressive and often fatal muscle diseases.Fire fighters’ involvement with MDA spans nearly 60 years.
MDA’s partnership with the International Association of Fire Fighters (IAFF) is one of the most beneficial of any initiative throughout the union’s great history.
IAFF locals’ Fill-the-Boot drives and other fundraising efforts across the country have raised hundreds of millions of dollars, and helped thousands of children, teens, adults - and even its own members - who have struggled with these terrible diseases.
“The MDA Show of Strength will demonstrate how Alameda Firefighters Association members in Alameda –and communities throughout the country – support MDA and its mission of help and hope,” says Alameda Firefighters President Domenick Weaver.
The 2013 telethon will feature a star-studded celebrity lineup including: Ryan Seacrest; Backstreet Boys; country stars Luke Bryan, Darius Rucker and Lee Ann Womack; "Glee" star Matthew Morrison; Enrique Iglesias; Paula Abdul; teenage pop sensation Austin Mahone; hip-hop dance crew Jabbawockeez; "American Idol" runner-up Jessica Sanchez; Kenny Loggins with the Blue Sky Riders; American blues rock band Vintage Trouble; and Universal recording artist and star from “The Voice” Chris Mann.
Additional presenters for the 2013 show include: ABC's Dr. Richard Besser; "Dancing with the Stars" contestant and Brady Bunch mom Florence Henderson; Emmy award-winning journalist Jann Carl; Olympic Gold Medal gymnasts Nadia Comaneci, and Bart Conner; and No Doubt drummer Adrian Young and his son, Mason Young.
MDA’s first Labor Day weekend telethon was broadcast in 1966 on a single New York station, and has become the most successful fundraising event in the history of television. Funds raised by MDA telethons have contributed to the organization’s worldwide research program.
Today, through current clinical trials, there is growing excitement that new lifesaving treatments and discoveries are on the horizon for many of the disorders MDA is dedicated to defeating, including Duchenne muscular dystrophy (DMD), spinal muscular atrophy (SMA) and amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS).
About The Alameda Firefighters
The Alameda Firefighters Association, IAFF Local 689, represents 93 professional fire fighters who work in Alameda, CA.
About MDA
The Muscular Dystrophy Association is the world’s leading nonprofit health agency dedicated to finding treatments and cures for muscular dystrophy, amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) and other neuromuscular diseases.
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