From Summer Camp to Shamrocks

MDA Ambassador’s MDA Summer Camp experience inspires her work with the Shamrocks campaign 

When Whitney Jorgensen, a 25-year-old MDA Shambassador from Farmington, Utah, visits stores in her area that participate in the MDA Shamrocks campaign, she knows firsthand how much the fundraising program does for individuals and families in the MDA community. 

“It’s a really good experience to be able to go to these stores and talk to cashiers and managers and be a face of the program and explain that this money is helping kids that I know,” she says. 

Jorgensen, who works for University of Utah Health, has volunteered as a counselor at MDA Summer Camp every year since 2011. Her cousin, whose father has muscular dystrophy, introduced her to MDA, and Jorgensen, her sister and her cousin have all been Summer Camp volunteers. In Jorgenson’s seven years of volunteering, she has seen the impact Summer Camp has on the campers. One of her favorite memories is watching a camper ride a horse for the first time — something he had wanted to do his whole life.

“That memory leads to all of the other experiences, of making things possible,” says Jorgensen. “Nothing is impossible at Summer Camp.”

Jorgensen explains that sharing these experiences with the employees she visits at Shamrocks-participating businesses helps put their fundraising efforts into perspective. 

“I see the work that the employees put into the program, and I can show them where the money is going and what their efforts are providing for these kids,” she says. “I love when cashiers reach their goals, and we get to celebrate that together. It’s a win for all of us. Those connections are what keep me going with MDA Shamrocks.”

For the past 35 years, MDA has partnered with more than 25,000 retail locations to raise more than $300 million through the MDA Shamrocks program. Look for participating partners in your community this MDA Shamrocks season, and visit mda.org/shamrocks to learn how you can get involved.