Philanthropy

The Muscular Dystrophy Association is a not-for-profit oganisation which was formed in the early 1970's by a group of the people who were affected by the disease.The Association is incorporated under the Associations Incorporation Act 1981(Incorporation number A1497. The MDA receives only 3% of its operating budget from government sources - the balance through its own fundraising initiatives. These include: Corporate sponsorship, Philanthropic Trusts, Special Events, Public Appeals, Harley-Davidson Raffles and Product Marketing.

The Association is committed to providing service for the betterment of people with muscular dystrophy and other neuromuscular diseases. Donations are exempt from taxation, probate and estate duties. As a direct result of research advances, in 1985 the MDA established the Muscular Dystrophy Research Foundation to ensure ultimately the sufficient funding to accelerate research and to provide the funds required for any potential treatment programs. December 9th 1993 saw the Minister for Health, The Hon. Marie Tehan and MDA Member Ryan Struk, officiate at the opening of the Melbourne Neuromuscular Research Centre. Ryan is the MDA's Executive Directors son - Boris Struk and the motivation for the MDA's achievements. The MDA's commitment to the Melbourne Neuromuscular Research Centre goes beyond a financial contribution.

The MDA is an equal partner in the venture with St.Vincents Hospital and the Dept. Medicine, Melbourne University. A number of Scientific Research Seminars and conferences have been sponsored. The most recent being a Satellite Conference to the VII International Congress on Neuromuscular Disorders - Kyoto Japan. The Centre has placed the MDA as the flagship for leading edge research in Australia. The MDA has a very strong commitment to "quality-of-life" programs, for example, July 1996 saw the staging of the 28th. MDA Camp for children and adults with a NMD. These Camps are conducted every school semester break in addition to the Christmas Holiday period. In excess of 50 Campers with their respective companions attend these MDA Camps providing over 54,000 hours of family respite per year. The MDA also runs an extensive information provision program with world-wide links to research centers other MDAs. This information is available for perusal at our Member Centre, on computer disc or from our Home Page on the Net.

All facets of our Information Program are under constant review and addition. The MDA also welcomes any contribution of infromation which may be of benefit to the global MD Community The MDA's slogan is Together, We Can Beat Muscular Dystrophy. It is this "Together" that forms the very foundation of the MDA - a sacred obligation to shape this organisation so it reflects all the goodness of those we serve.