MDA Telethon A Success
By: Allison Morrison
Updated: September 1, 2008
The annual Jerry Lewis MDA Telethon wrapped up Monday evening and hundreds of thousands of dollars were raised again this year.
"It's like once a year, you get a little slice of heaven that falls to earth and when you don't get that every year, you kind of, you know, I got to go back and you just keep going back and back," MDA volunteer Gil Ward says.
And going back year after year, is what he's done.
From MDA camp to the annual Labor Day Weekend telethon, Gils says it's kids like Ben Hooten that keep him coming back.
"It's the highlight of his year. He goes and sees his friends that he hasn't seen all year and he feels normal there because everybody's experiencing difficulties in some way," Ben Hooten's mother Tammy says.
Ben Hooten was diagnosed with MD 11 years ago.
She says the telethon is an important tradition for her family.
"There's a lot of people that care and even if they don't know you, you find out how much they care at this time of year," Tammy says.
And Ben's brother, Bobby, agrees.
"That's part of why we love Lubbock and the surrounding community so much- just because of the way they care," Bobby Hooten says.
And West Texans do care.
Tens of thousands of dollars are donated by folks like you every telethon.
And its those dollars that help kids like Ben and keep volunteers like Gil coming back each year.
"You still come back because there's new kids and you still have to kind of carry on the legacy because you know those guys would want to be back and they'd be showing up every year if they had the chance, so you have to kind of come back for them," Gil says.
