October 18, 2005

ON MDA'S HURRICANE RELIEF EFFORTS AND PRAISE FROM MATTIE'S MOM AND PRESIDENT BUSH

More than a month after the wrath of Hurricane Katrina descended on the states of the Gulf Cost, our nation continues to come to terms with the enormity of the devastation, including loss of life, destruction of homes and businesses, and the displacement of thousands of evacuees.

This disaster of unprecedented proportions didn’t spare families served by MDA, thousands of whom resided in the hurricane’s path and many of whom had to flee and are now trying to put the pieces of their lives back together. MDA staff in the affected region have assisted by helping to arrange replacements for lost or damaged equipment and providing referrals for housing assistance and other social services. (See “Katrina Sends People Served by MDA Scrambling for Help.”)

As the severity of the hurricane damage became apparent in the days preceding our 2005 Jerry Lewis MDA Labor Day Telethon, all of us at MDA remained gripped by the stories of survival and loss. We knew it wouldn’t be realistic to expect our 2005 Telethon pledge total to match or exceed our previous record. We also knew we had a moral obligation to put our Telethon at the service of our fellow citizens who were suffering due to Katrina.

	Major George Hood, the Salvation Army's national community relations and development secretary, joined Jerry Lewis to acknowledge the MDA Telethon's support of hurricane relief efforts.

Upon consultation with Jerry Lewis and MDA’s Board of Directors, we determined that a part of our Telethon effort should be devoted to helping victims of Katrina.

On Aug. 31, four days before airtime, Jerry Lewis informed national media that the Telethon would feature celebrity fund-raising appeals urging viewers to support the Salvation Army’s hurricane relief efforts. A special 800 number would be shown to facilitate these donations and keep them separate from normal Telethon contributions. Jerry also announced that MDA would make an outright donation of $1 million to support the relief effort.

“While the needs of 'my kids' are with us all year round, Hurricane Katrina is a national disaster on a scale that’s difficult to comprehend,” Jerry said. “We simply couldn’t ignore the need to help. We already have the infrastructure in place.”

Jerry made an impassioned statement at the beginning of the 21½-hour broadcast explaining how the Telethon could help both MDA and Katrina victims and expressing his faith in the generosity of the American public.

Throughout the Telethon, viewers were pleased to see a healthier, more vital Jerry, one who seemed to have rebounded dramatically after his debilitating health setbacks of the past few years. Jerry exuded enthusiasm and resolve that energized all of us who were dedicated to the broadcast’s success.

By the time Jerry sang his traditional closing tune, “You’ll Never Walk Alone,” the Telethon pledge board had attained $54.9 million in support of MDA’s programs in research, health care services and summer camp… not a record-breaking figure but impressive nonetheless.

Telethon fund-raising appeals for Salvation Army relief efforts raised more than $1 million which, when added to MDA’s outright donation, resulted in a total exceeding $2 million.

I’ve been touched to see a great number of communications after the Telethon congratulating MDA for responding to the Katrina disaster in this way.

Two letters in particular stood out, one of them from Jeni Stepanek. Jeni, who serves as an MDA National Vice President, lost four children to mitochondrial myopathy. After the birth of her last child, Mattie, Jeni learned that she herself is affected by an adult form of the disorder. Mattie was the precocious youngster whose “Heartsongs” poetry books were bestsellers and who served as MDA’s National Goodwill Ambassador before succumbing to his disease in 2004 at age 13. Jeni appeared on our 2005 broadcast to carry forward Mattie’s message of hope and peace and to urge public support of MDA’s programs.

Jeni’s letter in part reads as follows:

September 8, 2005

Dear Bob,

I am still feeling so good about what we accomplished during this year’s Telethon, and truly feel that this was perhaps the finest and most successful event we have ever had.

This is the second year in a row that we had to move through our annual and essential fundraising telethon while concurrently acknowledging a natural disaster in our country. And yet we somehow collectively balanced our needs with the needs of others who are suffering. We didn’t make that ‘one dollar more,’ and yet, Jerry found a way to take care of ‘his kids’ and to also care for our country’s families. I feel humbly proud to have been a part of this endeavor, and to have had the opportunity, at the national level, to speak to millions of viewers who were, perhaps, making an important decision during that final hour -- to give or to not give, to MDA or to hurricane relief or to both… and to more viewers who were, perhaps, making a gracious decision during that final hour --- to give more than planned, or to give yet again.

There are two poems in the final chapter of Mattie’s new book, Reflections of a Peacemaker, that keep going through my mind and spirit since Telethon. Mattie wrote both of them in weeks that came right before his cardiac arrest, which ultimately led to his death three months later. Mattie was struggling to balance the needs of his aching spirit… to cope with what he knew was a very limited remainder of mortal moments and yet somehow find reason to celebrate each of those moments with something more than resignation to existence until death. Mattie wanted to make a difference, to do things that mattered, and to find worth even in challenges. And today, I find the wisdom of these words to be relevant, and inspiring, and consistent with our choice for how to proceed with the 2005 MDA Telethon. I share them with you now, in the hopes that they feed your spirit with consolation, and with the realization that you and the organization made the one and only choice that was right, and just.

Spiral Direction

Indeed,
The world does
Not stop spinning
Because I am in pain or
Because tragedy exists…
Perhaps,
The world actually
Spins even faster
With the winds of despair…
Thus,
The world offers
Chances for
We, the people
On board to
Not fade into breezes of
Missed opportunity,
In deed.

Mattie J.T. Stepanek
January 1, 2004

About Matters

What really matters
Is choosing
What really matters,
Not merely
Being aware or
Knowing about or
Considering attentively.
What really matters
Is choosing
What really matters
With a clear and
Gentle heart
In all matters.

Mattie J. T. Stepanek
January 24, 2004

With love and respect,
Jeni Stepanek (“Mattie’s mom”)

Jeni is one of the kindest and wisest people I’ve ever met, and her words of praise and encouragement are especially meaningful to me.

MDA also received an extremely gracious congratulatory letter from President Bush on our contribution to the relief effort, which you can read by clicking here.

We’re grateful to Jeni, President Bush and everyone who has written to express their appreciation for MDA’s actions in support of hurricane relief… and we’re glad to have witnessed a rousing vindication of Jerry Lewis’ unwavering faith in the caring, generous nature of the American people.

With every best wish . . .

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