FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
August 27, 2002 — MDA

Local Family Raises Nearly $9,000 For MDA

OXFORD, MI — A Lake Orion family raised just under $9,000 last Sunday to benefit the Muscular Dystrophy Association during the 6th Annual “Devon’s Day of Smiles” at Centennial Park on Washington Street in downtown Oxford.

Over 300 friends, family and community members attended the fund-raiser coordinated by Tammy and Doug Borghese, the parents of 11-year-old Devon Borghese who has Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy. To date the event has raised over $80,000 for the MDA.

“It was just a perfect day — the weather was beautiful, everyone had a really good time and we raised a good amount of money for the MDA with more still coming in,” Tammy Borghese said.

The carnival featured children’s games, such as a moonwalk, hourly raffles with prizes including a 55-inch television, a silent auction with items donated by local businesses, as well as food and drinks.

“I like having the carnival because all of my friends are there and the money we raise from it helps other kids like myself with muscular dystrophy,” Devon Borghese said. With the help of leg braces, Devon can still walk and run. Most children with Duchenne MD — the most common form of the disease in young males — are using wheelchairs by his age.

The Borgheses began the event six years ago to raise money for the MDA soon after Devon was diagnosed with the disease at age 4. He will present the check for the amount raised at the carnival during this weekend’s Jerry Lewis/MDA Labor Day Telethon on WB20 in Detroit, Sept. 1-2.

Tammy Borghese said her family also recently raised an additional $1,300 for the Association at a dinner and dance fund-raiser at Bonzai Bob’s bar and grille in Lake Orion.

“We love doing fund-raisers for the MDA — we plan on having Devon’s Day of Smiles every year that we can,” she said. “Our next goal is to reach the $100,000 mark for event.”

Founded in 1950, the Muscular Dystrophy Association is a voluntary health organization dedicated to finding a cure for more than 40 neuromuscular diseases. MDA funds research worldwide and currently funds projects in Michigan at the University of Michigan and Wayne State University. MDA operates 230 hospital-affiliated clinics across the country. Local clinics are located at Children’s Hospital in Detroit and the Michigan Institute of Neuromuscular Disorders in Farmington Hills. Services include physical, occupational and respiratory therapy, genetic counseling and testing, social services consultations and year-round patient care.

From summer camps and neuromuscular research worldwide, to health clinics and public education forums for patients and their families, MDA and its volunteers constantly strive for the best patient care. These remarkable individuals will be recognized on the Telethon.

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