Every year people make plans for vacations and barbecues to end their summers and I just sit and listen to those plans while secretly praying for a cloudy, disgusting Labor Day Weekend. Why do I pray to the metal gods to clouds? So that people will be more inclined to stay home in front of their televisions searching for something to watch and hope that it’s the Jerry Lewis MDA Labor Day Telethon. And that while they watch they are inclined to make a donation for a cause that doesn’t get the attention it deserves.
Ever since the age of 4 my Labor Day weekend has been spent in a TV studio as MDA has gathered people who care to put on a show and inform people about a disease that’s been around for decades and ask people to donate any amount they can afford to give in the hopes of a cure being discovered. And in those 26 years I’ve been part of every aspect of it from being a goodwill ambassador as a child to part of the production crew now. From being a young child just asking for people to help those like me to producing videos that share the lives in individuals with Muscular Dystrophy so that the viewers can see how the money they’ve donated over the years helps individuals with Muscular Dystrophy lead a life as close to normal as possible.
And I sit here now writing this on the eve of the Telethon and try to conserve my energy for another Labor Day weekend of working to make sure more people know about MDA and what it does. Making sure more money is raised towards finding a cure, towards helping a family afford a wheelchair, towards giving a child with a form of Muscular Dystrophy a week of fun at MDA Summer Camp, and so much more that I’d be here for days writing everything. And I think about how tired I will be by the end of the show and I can’t think of anything else I’d want to do this weekend.
Barbecues happen all summer long and vacations can happen anytime of year. So why not join my Labor Day weekend tradition and be part of the Jerry Lewis MDA Telethon by watching it, making a donation and telling your friends and neighbors to do the same. This is a tradition that matters and can make a difference in a persons life.
Check your local listings for time and channel or go to www.MDA.org and make your donation now.
