Firefighters Conduct Fill-The-Boot Campaign To Raise Money For MDA's Jerry Lewis Labor Day Telethon
Locally, firefighters will conduct their annual Fill-the-Boot campaign for MDA throughout the weekend at the intersections of 30th Street and Second Avenue, 18th Street and West Broadway, Woodbury and Madison avenues and on Dial Drive in the Manawa Power Centre.
The 39th annual telethon will air for 21 hours beginning Sunday at 8 p.m. It will be shown on many CBS stations nationwide. The telethon will be aired on KM3, local channel 5 on Cox cable.
The broadcast raises funds for and awareness of MDA's programs of research and services benefiting people with any of more than 40 neuromuscular diseases.
Some 60 million viewers nationwide are expected to tune in to the telethon, and another million worldwide will see the show on MDA's Web site, www.mdausa.org, via streaming video provided by RealNetworks.
Lewis, MDA's national chairman, will again be the Telethon's star. After a year peppered with health problems, Lewis feels great and is eager to take the show's helm.
"I'm excited to get back in the ring for this very important fight against neuromuscular diseases," he said. "Telethon viewers will be treated to some great entertainment and will learn the importance of MDA's programs and its mission to stop these diseases in their tracks."
Lewis will be assisted by longtime telethon anchor Ed McMahon, a member of the association's board of directors. Also helping will be co-hosts Jann Carl of "Entertainment Tonight," television personality Cynthia Garrett and comedian Norm Crosby. Carl is an MDA director, and Crosby is an MDA national vice president. Garrett, who will co-host a new syndicated talk show, "Life & Style," beginning this fall, is also an MDA national vice president.
This year's Telethon is dedicated to the memory of Mattie J.T. Stepanek, a renowned poet and the MDA National Goodwill Ambassador, who died in June. It will also honor the International Association of Fire Fighters, MDA's largest national sponsor.
Special segments will celebrate the 50th anniversary of the IAFF's partnership with MDA in the fight against neuromuscular diseases.
A mix of entertainment will appeal to many generations, with singing, dancing, comedy, magic and more. Along with a roundup of celebrities and performing artists, the show will break away to remote locations.
For the second year, MDA's Telethon will feature a "Stars Across America" talent search, presenting the country's freshest singers, dancers, comedians, bands and novelty acts.
Singing sensation Billy Gilman, 16, will host special youth segments on the telethon. Gilman, an award-winning performer who released his first album at age 12, serves as MDA's national youth chairman.
Along with star-filled entertainment, the telethon will educate and inform viewers about MDA's cutting-edge scientific research for treatments and cures, and the association's life-enhancing programs at work today.
MDA "Love Network" stations will air hourly segments detailing information about MDA's local programs. The national and local segments will present videotaped profiles and live interviews with individuals and families who are served by MDA.
The 2003 MDA Telethon set a record in pledges and donations of $60.5 million. Lewis said that, as always, his goal is to surpass that total by one dollar.
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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