Leah's 7th Annual Backyard Carnival

Thirteen-year-old Leah Prager will host her annual Backyard Carnival this Sunday, June 5, from 2 to 5 p.m. at 6632 Crestland Avenue in Dallas. The money raised at her carnival will be donated to the Muscular Dystrophy Association and the Jewish Family Services Dallas Food Pantry.

Admission to the carnival is a donation. From there, guests can enjoy game booths, food stations, a bounce house, a silent auction, a neighborhood train, karaoke, a fire truck from Dallas Fire-Rescue, clowns from Merry Maker Clowns and a magician.

Leah's last carnival netted nearly $19,000, and this year, Leah is expecting to reach $100,000 contributed for the seven events. Additionally, Leah's bat mitzvah is the day before her carnival, so this year's event promises to be extra special.

Leah got the idea for her carnival from her mother, Erica Prager, who put on carnivals of her own as a child growing up in Longview. Backyard carnivals were signature events for MDA in the 1960s and 70s, and since then, the carnival concept has been updated to teach children that "It's Cool to Care."

For additional information, please contact MDA representatives Kelsey McGonigle or Anita Stevenson at 972-480-0070.

Frisco Firefighters Kick Off 2011 Fill The Boot Campaign For MDA

Frisco, Texas - May 26, 2011 - The Frisco Firefighters Association will team up with the Muscular Dystrophy Association on June 2, 3 and 4 to launch their annual Fill the Boot fundraising campaign for people with neuromuscular diseases.

Firefighters will be filling their boots with donations at the intersections of Legacy and Lebanon, Preston and Warren, Preston and Gaylord, Gaylord and Mall Road F, and Teel and Main starting on Thursday, June 2. Last year, the firefighters raised over $27,000, and they are hoping to exceed that number this year.

“For more than five decades, fire fighters across the country have done an unbelievable job helping MDA by volunteering their time and energy in helping raise funds,’’ said MDA Chairman & CEO Gerald C. Weinberg. “They are our true heroes.”

Fill-The-Boot funds support MDA’s services locally and nationally, including medical clinics staffed with specialists in neuromuscular disease and special summer camps for kids. Up-to-date information about MDA services and research can be found at www.mda.org.

MDA is the nonprofit health agency dedicated to curing muscular dystrophy, ALS and related diseases by funding worldwide research. The Association also provides comprehensive health care and support services, advocacy, and education. The first nonprofit organization to be awarded a Lifetime Achievement Award from the American Medical Association “for significant and lasting contributions to the health and welfare of humanity,” MDA’s programs are funded almost entirely by individual private contributors. MDA maintains a network of 200 hospital-affiliated clinics to serve families living with any of 43 different neuromuscular diseases.

For more information, please contact Jacquelin Way at 972-480-0011 or Kelsey McGonigle at 972-480-0070.