Members of the National Honor Society are selling shamrocks for a Muscular Dystrophy Association fundraiser at the Shelter Island School through St. Patrick’s Day.
Gold shamrocks are $5 and green shamrocks are $1. NHS Adviser Janine Mahoney says the students are trying to beat last year’s goal of $479. To purchase yours, drop off checks payable to Shelter Island School at the main lobby in an envelope marked NHS-Shamrocks. Or, pay by Venmo to @Janine-Mahoney.
MDA provides health care and support services for adults and children with neuromuscular diseases. Muscular Dystrophy involves the wasting away of muscles and is progressive. It cannot be reversed, although some medications and treatments can slow the disease. One million Americans and their families are affected.
As part of the fundraiser, NHS students are highlighting different facts for each day of the campaign in the lead up to St. Patrick’s Day on March 17.
- the MDA funds groundbreaking research for promising treatments and your dollars can get much needed care for families
- MD is caused by mutations (alterations) in the genes responsible for healthy muscle structure and function
- Muscular dystrophy is usually diagnosed in children between 3 and 6 years of age.
- Young boys are more likely to have Muscular Dystrophy than girls
- Many individuals with Muscular Dystrophy eventually lose the ability to walk
- One in every 1,200 births will have Muscular Dystrophy at birth or later in life
- There is no cure for Muscular Dystrophy, but treatments can help prolong and better life for those who have it
Twenty-six students in grades 10 to 12 are involved in MD campaign: Bradley Batten, Ariana Carter, Emmett Cummings, Elijah Davidson, Myla Dougherty, John Febles Torres, Isabella Fonseca, Tyler Gulluscio, Daria Kolmogorova, Nicholas Mamisashvili, Emma Martinez, Andrea Napoles, Theo Olinkiewicz, Olivia Overstreet, Lily Page, Sebastian Quigley-Dunning, Francis Regan, Dayla Reyes, Valeria Reyes, Angelina Rice, Jane Richards, Hayden Rylott, Evan Schack, Emma Teodoru, Brandon Velasquez, and Benjamin Waife.
Mahoney notes, too, that the NHS turned 100 on March 1. The National Honor Society elevates a school’s commitment to the values of scholarship, service, leadership, and character. These four pillars have been associated with membership in the organization since its inception in 1921.
