MDA ANNOUNCES RETURN OF
'RITE OF SUMMER' - BACKYARD CARNIVALS

TUCSON, Ariz., May 27, 2005 – MDA Carnivals are back with a bang! Updated for the new millennium, these homemade backyard carnivals teach kids “It’s Cool to Care,” while raising money for the programs of the Muscular Dystrophy Association.

Many adults fondly remember holding backyard carnivals for “Jerry’s kids” when they were children. The carnivals – featuring homemade games, booths and shows – were popular in the 1960s and 70s, raising thousands of dollars to help children and adults with neuromuscular diseases.

Once promoted on locally produced children’s television shows, the new MDA Carnival program takes advantage of the modern route to children’s hearts: the Internet. Organized under the theme “It’s Cool to Care,” the new program offers MDA Carnival kits, which can be found at www.mdacarnivals.com or by calling (800) 572-1717 to request the free kit in CD-ROM or printed form.

Kits include everything from instructions on how to build a booth or create a carnival game, to publicity materials, recipes for carnival food, safety tips, printable signs and other carnival paraphernalia.

“Backyard carnivals once were a rite of summer, and to this day we still get calls asking for information about the program,” MDA President & CEO Robert Ross says. “Some things change over time, but not the desire of parents to teach their children the importance of helping others.”

MDA is a voluntary health agency working to defeat more than 40 neuromuscular diseases through programs of worldwide research, comprehensive services, and far-reaching professional and public health education. The Association's programs are funded almost entirely by individual private contributors.

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TUCSON, June 16, 2005 - Grammy award-winning artist Alison Krauss has donated the gown she wears on the cover of her new CD, Lonely Runs Both Ways, for auction to benefit the Muscular Dystrophy Association's Mattie Fund. The celebrity on-line auction, organized by Celebrity Rags 4 Charity Riches, runs through June 26. To participate, visit www.rags4riches.org. The MDA Mattie Fund was established after the death last year of best-selling teen poet and MDA National Goodwill Ambassador Mattie Stepanek. The fund supports research seeking treatments and cures for childhood muscular dystrophies.

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