Fareway teams up for 19th year with MDA

Fred Greiner, President and Chief Operating Officer of Fareway Stores, Inc. announced the nineteenth annual partnership between Fareway Stores, Inc., the Dr Pepper Snapple Group Midwest Division, Seven-Up and the Muscular Dystrophy Association at a recent meeting of Fareway management staff in Boone.

“We are delighted to enter a nineteenth year of partnership with Fareway”, said John Claes, MDA Regional Director. “Their employees, vendors and customers raised nearly $150,000 for MDA in 2008, which brings their ‘career’ year total to over $2 million. To say that they have made a significant impact on the services that MDA provides would be an understatement.”

On hand to kick-off this year’s MDA fund-raising campaign were members of MDA staff and some very special guests, including 32 year-old MDA patient and advocate Rob Roozeboom of Sheldon and sixteen year-old Goodwill Ambassador Casey Aschan-Cox of Johnston. Rob has Limb Girdle muscular dystrophy and Casey has congenital muscular dystrophy.

The 2009 fund-raising year has already begun, with their 94 stores I the home stretch of the annual “Shamrocks Against Dystrophy” campaign, a popular St. Patrick’s Day mobile program.

Also planned are employee bowling events, golf outings and much more. The Dr Pepper Snapple Group will be sponsoring Fareway A&W Root Beer Float sales in August and the Fareway program concludes with special Telethon-related events in August and September.

Funds raised by Fareway will help support MDA’s program of services that includes MDA clinics in Des Moines, Iowa City and Omaha, and MDA Summer Camps at Camp Courageous in Monticello, Camp Courage in Maple Lake, Minnesota and Camp Comeca in Cozad, Neb. In all, MDA helps over 1500 families in the area that Fareway serves. In addition to these services, MDA has presently committed nearly a million dollars in neuromuscular research projects at the University of Iowa.

MDA would like to thank the entire Fareway family for their important contribution in helping “Jerry’s Kids.” Stores will be recognized for their efforts and featured on local segments of the Jerry Lewis Labor Day Telethon. For more information about Fareway’s program or MDA’s local services, call 515-453-9496.