National Task Force Welcomes New Members

Elio Navarro of Tampa, Fla., and Rob Roozeboom of Sheldon, Iowa, have joined the MDA National Task Force on Public Awareness. Navarro and Roozeboom join 10 other members of the Task Force, a voluntary body that advises MDA on issues of interest to people with disabilities.

 

Rob Roozeman	Elio Navarro

Navarro, 24, works as a software developer for the business and tax advisory company PricewaterhouseCoopers. Affected by spinal muscular atrophy since age 2, Navarro is an accomplished public speaker in both English and Spanish.

Roozeboom, 28, is founder and president of RISE Ministries, an organization that teaches teens and adults how to overcome adversity in their lives. Roozeboom, who has limb-girdle muscular dystrophy, speaks to a variety of audiences and contributes to a daily radio program, “Rise Above Radio.”

MDA Summer Camps Seek Volunteers

MDA is looking for volunteers for its 90 summer camp sessions across the country. Volunteer counselors must be at least 16 and able to lift a young person between ages 6 and 21.

Each counselor will serve as a round-the-clock companion to a camper with a neuromuscular disease. Counselors help campers with daily activities such as eating, bathing and dressing, and in recreational activities.

To obtain a volunteer application or learn about other ways to support MDA’s summer camp program, contact your local MDA office, or call MDA national headquarters at (800) 572-1717. For more information, go to www.mda.org/clinics/camp/ or read “MDA Summer Camp.”

MDA Earns Top Rating From Charity Watchdog

The American Institute of Philanthropy, in its “Charity Rating Guide & Watchdog Report,” gave MDA an overall rating of A- and placed the Association among its top-rated charities.

The report is based on an in-depth financial analysis of audited financial statements and other reports.

The Charity Rating Guide is included in the Charity Watchdog Report three times a year and informs donors how some 500 national charities spend their money.

To receive a copy of the report, visit the American Institute of Philanthropy’s Web site at www.charitywatch.org.

Father of Fill-the-Boot George Graney Dies

George Graney, founder of the MDA Fill-the-Boot campaign and past president of Boston’s International Association of Fire Fighters Local 718, died in December. Graney, 90, was best known for launching the campaign that began the 50-year relationship between IAFF and MDA.

Graney, who retired from the fire service in 1969, was honored by IAFF General President Harold Schaitberger at a special ceremony held during the 2004 IAFF Convention in Boston in August.

The Fill-the-Boot tradition began in 1953 when a friend, Charlie Crowley, approached Graney in South Boston. Crowley needed money to take care of his two sons with muscular dystrophy. Graney immediately rounded up 20 fire fighters and started a door-to-door canister drive, raising $5,000. Soon the IAFF took up the MDA cause nationwide.

The IAFF is MDA’s largest national sponsor, and each year, members of hundreds of IAFF locals invite the public at intersections and sporting events to fill a fire fighter boot with donations for MDA.

Wilmington Museum Displays MDA Art

Selections from the MDA Art Collection will be on display at the Louise Wells Cameron Art Museum in Wilmington, N.C., on Friday, March 11, in conjunction with a fund-raiser for MDA called Wings Over Wilmington.

The event will feature 12 pieces from the MDA Collection. Five of them, all by North Carolina artists, will remain on display at the museum through April 22. The museum features only works by North Carolina artists.

To purchase tickets for Wings Over Wilmington, call (877) 998-7433.

The permanent MDA Collection features more than 300 works by artists with neuromuscular diseases. It’s on display at MDA national headquarters in Tucson, Ariz., and it can be viewed at www.mda.org/commprog/art/.

Determined to Dive

Matthew Johnston, 27, has Duchenne muscular dystrophy and dreams of going SCUBA diving. With help from a team of researchers, innovators, and medical professionals, the Woodbury, Minn., man is taking steps toward making his dream a reality.

Articles about Johnston have been published in diving magazines, the Navy Seals Web site and several newspapers. He received encouraging letters from golf pro Tiger Woods and Virgin Group founder Richard Branson.

Fulfilling Johnston’s dream will cost an estimated $200,000, including research and development of an underwater ventilator. Johnston set up a donation fund through Project Innerspace, a nonprofit organization promoting public awareness of ocean exploration.

To learn more about Johnston’s dream, visit www.projectinnerspace.org/MatthewJohnston or www.scubadivingdream.com.