On August 10, National Association of Letter Carriers (NALC) President Fredric Rolando did a little time and a lot of good as a “jailbird” at an MDA Lock-Up event in Fredericksburg, Va. Lock-Ups are fun and inspiring community events that unite business leaders to raise funds and awareness to help kids and adults with muscular dystrophy, ALS and related life-threatening diseases live longer and grow stronger.
Leading by example is essential, Rolando says. “It’s important for all members to participate in our fundraising events, including the NALC leadership.” After blowing past his initial goal of $5,000 weeks prior to the event, he raised his fundraising goal to $25,000 and is on track to meet that goal in the coming weeks.
NALC is the representing union of 285,000 professional letter carriers of the United States Postal Service who deliver mail to homes and businesses across the U.S. Pledging its support to MDA back in 1952, the NALC represents one of MDA’s first national sponsoring organizations. Since that time, the NALC has remained faithful to its commitment to support MDA’s mission, raising over one million dollars each year and organizing countless special events, including Bowl-a-Thons, Satchel Drives, MDA Muscle Walks, letter writing campaigns and more.
“We are MDA’s longest serving national sponsor We value that relationship, and we will continue our partnership as long as we are needed,” says Rolando.
Getting a prominent NALC leader involved on the local level was fun for everyone, says Louise Zingaro, executive director of the Greater Virginia MDA office.
“Working collaboratively to achieve our goals was a great deal of fun and the enthusiasm was contagious,” she says. “While [NALC’s] overarching goal is supporting MDA’s mission, I know that NALC used this opportunity as well to show support for the community in which Frederic lives and to rally all of their members to support their only national charity, MDA. As a result of participating in this event, they plan to encourage all of their regional presidents to become involved in lockups.”
Zingaro says she hopes others follow Rolando’s example. “MDA Lock-Up is a great way to support the communities in which business leaders live and a good tool to bring their employees together around an important cause.”
Help Fredric Rolando reach his Lock-Up goal!
