The Association is incorporated under the
Associations Incorporation Act
1981(Incorporation number A1497). The MDA
receives only 3% of its operating budget
from government sources - the balance
through its own fundraising initiatives.
These include: Corporate sponsorship,
Philanthropic Trusts, Special Events,
Public Appeals, Harley-Davidson Raffles
and Product Marketing.
The Association is committed to providing
service for the betterment of people with
muscular dystrophy and other neuromuscular
diseases. Donations are exempt from
taxation, probate and estate duties. As
a direct result of research advances, in
1985 the MDA established the Muscular
Dystrophy Research Foundation to ensure
ultimately the sufficient funding to
accelerate research and to provide the
funds required for any potential treatment
programs. December 9th 1993 saw the
Minister for Health, The Hon. Marie Tehan
and MDA Member Ryan Struk, officiate at
the opening of the Melbourne Neuromuscular
Research Center. Ryan is the MDA's
Executive Directors son - Boris Struk and
the motivation for the MDA's achievements.
The MDA's commitment to the Melbourne
Neuromuscular Research Center goes beyond
a financial contribution. The MDA is an
equal partner in the venture with
St.Vincent's Hospital and the Dept.
Medicine, Melbourne University. A number
of Scientific Research Seminars and
conferences have been sponsored. The most
recent being a Satellite Conference to the
VII International Congress on
Neuromuscular Disorders - Kyoto Japan. The
Center has placed the MDA as the flagship
for leading edge research in Australia.
The MDA has a very strong commitment to
"quality-of-life" programs, for example,
July 1996 saw the staging of the 28th. MDA
Camp for children and adults with a NMD.
These Camps are conducted every school
semester break in addition to the
Christmas Holiday period. In excess of 50
Campers with their respective companions
attend these MDA Camps providing over
54,000 hours of family respite per year.
The MDA also runs an extensive information
provision program with world-wide links to
research centers other MDA's. This
information is available for perusal at
our Member Center, on computer disc or
from our Home Page on the Net. All facets
of our Information Program are under
constant review and addition. The MDA also
welcomes any contribution of information
which may be of benefit to the global MD
Community. The MDA's slogan is Together,
We Can Beat Muscular Dystrophy. It is this
"Together" that forms the very foundation
of the MDA - a sacred obligation to shape
this organization so it reflects all the
goodness of those we serve.
