Muscular Dystrophy Association Announces 2022 Muscle Walks in Local Communities Nationwide to Empower Families Living with Muscular Dystrophy, ALS, and Related Neuromuscular Disease

MDA will host in-person Muscle Walks in Phoenix, Chicago, St. Louis, Detroit, Boston, Twin Cities, Houston, Dallas and continue virtual programming

NEW YORK, March 15, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Thousands of people in local communities are taking steps to help fund the promising progress that the Muscular Dystrophy Association (MDA) is making. The 2022 MDA Muscle Walk season will raise critical funds and awareness to help empower children and adults living with muscular dystrophy, ALS, and related neuromuscular diseases to live longer, more independent lives. Registration is open for in-person MDA Muscle Walks in Phoenix, Chicago, St. Louis, Detroit, Boston, Twin Cities, Houston, and Dallas. MDA will also continue the virtual Muscle Walk option.

2022 MDA Muscle Walk Schedule:

• Sunday, March 27 Muscle Walk of Arizona, Phoenix, AZ, Register Donate
• Sunday May 1 Muscle Walk of Missouri St. Louis, MO Register Donate
• Saturday, June 4 Muscle Walk of Illinois Chicago, IL Register Donate
• Saturday, August 13 Muscle Walk of Michigan Detroit, MI Register Donate
• September 17 Muscle Walk of Minnesota Twin Cities, MN Register Donate
• Sunday, September 25 Muscle Walk of Massachusetts Boston, MA Register Donate
• Saturday, November 5, Muscle Walk of Dallas Dallas, TX, Register Donate
• Saturday, November 19, 2022 Muscle Walk of Houston Houston, TX Register Donate
• Year-round, Virtual Muscle Walk Muscle Walk Your Way Register Donate

MDA proclaimed 2022 as the Year of Independence and this year, MDA Muscle Walks will include engagement activations via its Quest content platform including:

• Quest Podcast Engagement tent, where participants aka MDA Walk Stars can record themselves on the topic of empowerment, to be considered for inclusion in future episodes of MDA's Quest podcast, which is part of MDA's Quest content platform.
• MDA Summer Camp Experience tent, where participants can engage in MDA campers' favorite arts and crafts projects.
• MDA Advocacy Engagement tent, where participants can learn more about the efforts of MDA's Advocacy team in areas including access to healthcare, newborn screening, education, employment, travel and more. Participants will be able to sign up to advocate to remove barriers for our community.

Funds raised from these events support research, which is conducted worldwide – and has led in part to 15 FDA approved treatments for the neuromuscular community in the past seven years. Funds also support MDA's Care Center network with multi-disciplinary medical teams at over 150 locations nationwide, MDA's Resource Center providing guidance for the neuromuscular community, educational programming, advocacy, and MDA Summer Camp for children living with neuromuscular disease ages 8 to 17.

"We're thrilled to be back in person empowering our families in cities across the country to participate in MDA's Muscle Walk events for a very important cause to accelerate progress for people living with neuromuscular disease. These events bring our families, and the people who love and support them, together to raise awareness and funds for research, care, and advocacy for the neuromuscular community," said Brittany Minke, MDA National Director, Fundraising and Community Engagement. "Our mission is to empower people living with neuromuscular disease to live life to their fullest potential, connect with one another and raise critical funds for research, care, and advocacy for our community."

Throughout 2022, MDA will promote these events on national social media channels @MDAorg using #MuscleWalk. Watch the MDA Muscle Walk video here.

Thank you to our national MDA Muscle Walk sponsor, Biogen, and other corporate sponsors.

About Muscular Dystrophy Association
Muscular Dystrophy Association (MDA) is the #1 voluntary health organization in the United States for people living with muscular dystrophy, ALS, and related neuromuscular diseases. For over 70 years, MDA has led the way in accelerating research, advancing care, and advocating for the support of our families.  MDA's mission is to empower the people we serve to live longer, more independent lives.

SOURCE Muscular Dystrophy Association