Labor Day & the Jerry Lewis Telethon.

For a while Labor Day meant the Telethon. In the early 70s, I lived in NYC. I was watching the telethon, when they gave out my telephone number as a doner number. My phone started ringing. I tried to tell callers that it was an error. People just couldn't understand that.. Some got really hostile and threatening. "F U" etc. This went on for hours till they got the right number on TV. Back in those days, the telethon didn't have "phone banks" people would volunteer to take donations from their home phones for about 4 hours.
 

"THE TELETHON.​

A streaming experience across multiple screens that will unite audiences of all ages. Laugh along with Kevin Hart, and all his friends, wherever you are.

Multi-Media Broadcast​

Streamed across multiple screens
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Continuous Content​

Gaming Events, Streamathons, an after party, and more
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Entertainment​

Kevin Hart & a cast of his celebrity friends take stage for comedy, musical performances and unexpected moments of joy

Over seven weeks of streaming events, MDA Let’s Play For A Cure has brought together some of the biggest names in gaming, including Zedd, missharvey, Voyboy, Trick2g, JonSandman, Clayster of NY Subliners, and Stixxay and xSojin of Counter League Gaming, among others, and showcased gameplay from Among Us, League of Legends, Rocket League, Fall Guys, Call of Duty. MDA is an active member of the gaming community through MDA Let’s Play, a platform to raise funds for research, care and advocacy, for over 300,000 people in the United States, living with muscular dystrophy, ALS and related neuromuscular diseases. MDA Let’s Play is a year-round gaming community that comes together every weekend to play games.

Learn More"

https://www.mda.org/telethon
 
Jerry Lewis Telethon
I think Jerry did a good thing, many benefited from his efforts.

My wife has muscular dystrophy and has long qualified for benefits from his organization. Only collected a few, and none recently. She needs them much less than some people. What a lot of people don't know about muscular dystrophy is that most people who have it are not really disabled.

Like my wife, it impacts her shoulders and ability to lift overhead, but she lives with that, and unless you ask her to change a light bulb you wouldn't know she had it. It can cause her some discomfort and pain, but with exercise, a massage chair, and care in not trying to do things she shouldn't its quite manageable. Her father had it, and her sister and brother also. Its genetic. Similar stories to her, not awful, but not great.

A minority of muscular dystrophy sufferers have it much worse and are in more need of support from Jerry's foundation.
 


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