This year, Harley-Davidson is celebrating its 115th anniversary — and we at the Muscular Dystrophy Association are thanking them for dedicating 38 of those years to supporting our mission.
Since 1980, Harley-Davidson has partnered with MDA for a single shared ideal: freedom. Freedom comes in many different forms; this can look like hitting the open road or a child raising their arms above their head for the first time after receiving a life-changing treatment. It’s always about living life to the fullest with strength and independence.
Harley-Davidson riders have logged thousands of highway miles to raise millions of dollars for MDA to fuel our mission to transform the lives of people affected by muscular dystrophy, ALS and other related neuromuscular diseases through innovations in science and innovations in care. Support from partners like Harley-Davidson makes groundbreaking research possible, including landmark neuromuscular disease treatments like Spinraza, the first FDA-approved drug for spinal muscular atrophy (SMA). Thanks to Harley’s generosity, adults and kids, such as 7-year-old MDA National Ambassador Faith Fortenberry (who loves motorcycles, too), can move in ways they might never have been able to before.
Today we’re kicking off MDA’s #RideForStrength, a 38-day campaign to celebrate Harley-Davidson’s 38 years as a valued MDA partner. The highlight of the campaign is MDA’s Parade of Heroes, an event within Harley-Davidson’s 115th Anniversary Parade. We’re following MDA families, donors and supporters as they ride their bikes to Milwaukee, Wis., for the parade. Keep an eye out for their digital postcards with stories from the road on MDA’s Facebook, Instagram and Twitter pages; our riders will be checking in from great locations around the U.S. Please share MDA’s and our riders’ posts with your friends — along with your own stories of support, too. Help us spread the word until the parade and after about Harley-Davidson’s and MDA’s impact — just use #RideForStrength and tag MDA in the posts.
On Sunday, Sept. 2, during Labor Day weekend, MDA’s road representatives will take their place in the parade alongside Faith and other MDA ambassadors, members of fellow MDA partners including the International Association of Fire Fighters (IAFF) and the National Association of Letter Carriers, and thousands of other Harley-Davidson riders.
It’s a fitting way to recognize a partnership that has made so much possible for our mission and for our families. We are so grateful to Harley-Davidson, an iconic American company with a remarkable legacy of community, generosity and spirit.
