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Rolando, carriers set to appear on the annual Labor Day MDA telethon
NALC President Fred Rolando and letter carriers representing the top fund-raising branches in the country will present a check for $1.9 million to the Muscular Dystrophy Association during the 2010 Jerry Lewis MDA Telethon this weekend.
“NALC members and MDA have been friends for more than half a century,” said Rolando, who is also an MDA national vice president. “It’s a relationship we treasure and one we’re committed to maintaining until our help is no longer needed—the day when treatments and a cure have been found.”
Rolando will appear Monday morning between 10:30 and 11:30 (Pacific Time). The following letter carriers are also scheduled to appear:
Sunday night, September 5, between 10 and 11 p.m. (Pacific Time):
• Donna Sterner, Shreveport, LA Branch 197
• Lon Smedsrud, Fargo-West Fargo Branch 205
• Jeffrey Harness, Freehold, NJ Branch 924
• Alison Coad, Green Bay Branch 619
• Michael Bagarozzi, New City, NY Branch 5229
• Fran Magano, Brooklyn Auxiliary 2003
Monday morning, September 6, between 6 and 7:40 (Pacific Time):
• Richard O’Connell Jr., New Jersey Merged Branch 38
• Marie Tartaglione, Brooklyn Branch 41
• Curt Roessler, Hartford, CT Branch 86
• Michael Curran, Northeastern New York Branch 358
• Bob Bracy, Louisville Branch 14
• Jered “Scott” Andrus, Grand Rapids Branch 56
ALL TIMES ARE SUBJECT TO CHANGE.
Check out mda.org to find out how you can watch the 21½-hour broadcast live on your local station and also follow the telethon via MDA’s Twitter, Facebook and YouTube sites. The national portions of the telethon will once again be broadcast live from the South Point Hotel, Casino and Spa in Las Vegas.
The NALC became the MDA’s first official national sponsor 58 years ago, and active and retired letter carriers and their families raised the almost $2 million for “Jerry’s Kids” over the last year through golf tournaments, walk-a-thons, bingo nights, pancake breakfasts, raffles, roadblock canister drives and more, including the annual national “Deliver the Cure” bowlathon.
The funds raised by NALC are in addition to the millions of dollars in pledges and contributions received from the public during the telethon, which was watched last year by an estimated 40 million viewers on more than 170 MDA “Love Network” television stations.
MDA is the nonprofit health agency dedicated to curing muscular dystrophy, ALS and related diseases by funding worldwide research. It also provides comprehensive health care and support services, advocacy and education, and maintains clinics nationwide for adults and children with muscle diseases.
MDA President and CEO Gerald Weinberg said NALC’s support has been gratifying over the years. “Letter carriers are the face of our Postal Service and a part of the fabric of every American community,” Weinberg said. “We couldn’t be more proud to be partnered with them.”
Preparing for the next bowlathon
Branch 197 MDA Coordinator Donna Sterner has worked up a PowerPoint presentation designed to help other coordinators gather support for the annual NALC Bowlathon for MDA, set for November 7.
Click here to download the PowerPoint file.
Click here to download a PDF version of the file.
Carriers make a difference
at MDA camps nationwide
“If you really want to see why NALC has MDA as a national charity, go to one of the summer camps,” said Jim Williams, the union’s national MDA coordinator. “You’ll be blown away by the courage of the kids and their families, seeing how they cope.” Click here to read the article in the August 2010 Postal Record.
Strike, Strike, Strike—Members roll up $300,000 for MDA
Thanks to the generosity of thousands of carriers,
their families and friends, NALC raised more
than a quarter of a million dollars in its first
bowlathon for the Muscular Dystrophy Association.
At least 150 branches took part in the event, held
Sunday, November 1, at bowling alleys across the
country, as recounted in the December Postal
Record. As of December 16, the event had taken in
more than $300,000, said National MDA Coordinator
Jim Williams.
“A lot of our branches already do so much to
raise money for MDA and I think the bowlathon
has helped bring more branches on board,” said
Williams, a member of Portland, Oregon Branch 82. “A nationwide event like this can be a template for
other efforts, both local and national, so we can
keep building on our success.”
NALC President Fred Rolando said the NALC
national bowlathon will be an annual event on the
first Sunday of November to support the MDA, the
union’s only official national charity. “I believe we can
do more to help the children and young adults who
are battling neuromuscular diseases,” he said. “Letter
carriers can lead the way in the quest for a cure.”
Williams said other national events are being
considered, such as “Texas hold-’em” poker tournaments
or a national car wash day.
The bowlathon’s top fund-raising branches in 10
size categories were Los Angeles, California Branch
24; Las Vegas, Nevada Branch 2502; Memphis, Tennessee
Branch 27, Northeastern New York Branch
358; Clearwater, Florida Branch 2008; Shreveport,
Louisiana Branch 197; Ann Arbor, Michigan Branch
434; Hagerstown, Maryland Branch 443; Morrisville,
Pennsylvania Branch 2572; and Benton,
Arkansas Branch 3706.
Each winning local will receive a laptop computer
loaded with NALC’s software. The highest handicapped
scorer and the highest actual scorer in each
size category will receive a check for $150, applicable
toward a new bowling ball and shoes. | Full results
America's letter carriers have helped lead the search for cure for neuromuscular diseases for half a century. The NALC was the first national sponsor of the Muscular Dystrophy Association and letter carriers are among MDA's top fund-raisers, collecting more than $20 million in the past 15 years alone to finance research and provide care and services for children and adults with muscular dystrophies. NALC's local branches are honored annually during the Jerry Lewis MDA Telethon over the Labor Day weekend for their efforts.
Branches can now register to take part in the year-long campaign to raise funds for NALC's official charity. Branches that fill out a registration form will receive a packet of materials designed to help branches redouble their efforts.
By clicking here, you will launch a small program (MDA Branch Form.exe) that allows you to type required information directly into the NALC registration form. (If the program doesn't open, right-click the link and save it to your computer or open a PDF of the form here).
Spotlight on MDA Research
Find out more about the advances the MDA are discovering every day by checking out this Spotlight on MDA Research newsletter.
Postal Record articles
National MDA Coordinator Jim Williams writes a column in NALC's monthly magazine, The Postal Record, that covers the ways NALC branches can support MDA. These informative articles can be viewed using Adobe Reader. Click here for instructions for obtaining the free Adobe Reader and for viewing and downloading the files.
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