LOCAL MDA TELETHON RAISES NEARLY $325,0002

Each Labor Day, people throughout the country go to great lengths to raise money for the Jerry Lewis Muscular Dystrophy Labor Day Telethon. Just ask Dean Gholson, president of the firefighters' union in Poplar Bluff.

Gholson was so disappointed with last year's fund-raising efforts by members of the union he decided to take drastic measures. This year Gholson promised his members if they raised at least $2,000 for the telethon he would shave his head.

The members of the union came through, raising $5,142.50. True to his word, Gholson sat down and, in front of television cameras, allowed local telethon co-host Lisa Crane to shave his head on live TV.

The contribution was a part of a nationwide effort to raise funds to fight muscular dystrophy, a genetic muscle disease that weakens skeletal muscles and also seriously affects movements and posture.

The firefighters, along with other contributors throughout Southeast Missouri, Southern Illinois and Western Kentucky, helped to raise $324,915, surpassing last year's total of $322,618.

Nationally, Jerry Lewis' annual 21-hour, nonstop Labor Day telethon raised a record $51,577,023 in pledges and contributions for the Muscular Dystrophy Association's battle against neuromuscular diseases.

"This is a big day for us," said Doug Conyers, the MDA's regional program coordinator.

"Sometimes people think that this is just a one-time deal," he said. "It isn't. We work 12 months a year battling this disease."

He said that 82 cents of every dollar donated will be used for either research, patient care or education. That figure makes the MDA one of the top associations in the nation in the percentage of contributions going for what they were given for.

Conyers said the MDA sponsors local programs like a free summer camp in Illinois, a free clinic at St. Francis Medical Center for those with neuromuscular diseases, assistance in purchasing equipment like wheelchairs and support groups.

The clinic at St. Francis Medical Center is just one of 240 MDA clinics in the country. At the clinic, patients are diagnosed and treated at no cost to them or their families.

Within the 28-county area served by the region's chapter of the MDA, about 300 people, many of them children, have contracted muscular dystrophy and are serviced by the association, Conyers said.

One of the most important things the MDA does is to continue its research on the causes of neuromuscular conditions and therapies for the disorders, he said.

"Research is the key," Conyers said. "If they find a cure and put me out of a job, that's OK with me."

The association is researching more than 40 neuromuscular diseases, including Duchenne muscular dystrophy and amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, better known as ALS or Lou Gehrig's disease.

In addition, the MDA annually funds more than 400 scientific teams worldwide. These investigators have made advances toward cures for several muscle-wasting diseases. They have also pioneered breakthroughs for therapies for heart disease, cancer, AIDS, Alzheimer's, Parkinson's, Huntington's and cystic fibrosis.

In addition to research and treatment, the MDA also helps to send children with the disease to summer camp. The cost of the camp for each child is $400.

During the telethon, the hosts from KFVS-TV challenged viewers in a three-minute period to raise money specifically to send children to camp. In the three minutes, viewers responded by pledging $1,200, enough to send three children to camp next summer.

The telethon ran locally on KFVS-TV from 9 a.m. to 6:30 p.m. Monday, broadcasting from sites in both Cape Girardeau and Marion, Ill.