MDA in the Marketing Classroom
Projects
Teacher Notes:
These 2 projects (student handouts on next 2 pages) is a great way to
bring MDA into your marketing classroom. Before conducting a MDA fundraising activity with your DECA chapter,
you want your students to be knowledgeable about MDA and about the diseases for which MDA is trying to find a cure.
By having your students do these 2 projects, they will learn about the MDA organization, about the neuromuscular diseases,
about the scientific research, about MDA Summer Camp, and about how they can help. The second project is
a way to bring their research into a marketing-related activity. You might encourage your students to check
with their science teachers to see if they can also get credit in that class for the report. If they do,
remind them to expand on the scientific aspects of their report.
Contact the local MDA office in your area (see list below), and while
your students are researching their report have an MDA spokesperson come talk to them about MDA and fundraising activities.
This will give them more information for their report and for their brochure.
You’ll have your students
motivated to do something for MDA and they will be able to speak to anyone about their fundraising activity and why it’s
important.
LOCAL MDA OFFICES IN LOUISIANA
New Orleans,
LA
VANESSA TOMS
District Director
(504)733-0005
Shreveport, LA
ANDREA WILKERSON
Regional Field Representative
KASSI GRAVES
District Director
LACI STOKES
Program Coordinator
(318)742-3632
Lafayette,
LA
KELLY ALLGOOD
District Director &
SUZANNE RICHTER
Program Coordinator
KRISTI LELUX
Program Coordinator
(337)234-0088
Baton Rouge,
LA
MONIQUE SIMPSON
District Director
AINSLEY HARRIS
Program Coordinator
(225)761-7010
Monroe,
LA
LINDA CUNNINGHAM
Regional Director
(318) 388-3221
JONATHAN HENRY
District Director
NICOLE CREIGHTON
Program
Coordinator
(318) 388-3252
MDA in the Marketing Classroom
Projects
DECA’s national charity is MDA, the Muscular Dystrophy Association. MDA
is the country's largest private-sector nonprofit sponsor of neuromuscular disease research and funds some 400 scientific
grants worldwide. MDA serves adults and children with neuromuscular diseases at 240 hospital/clinics nationwide,
and offers a program of medical and support services. There are over 200 local offices of MDA which provide
direct services such as support groups, orthopedic aids, and MDA summer camps geared toward the needs and abilities of youngsters
with Muscular Dystrophy. As one of the largest fundraising organizations for MDA, DECA encourages its chapters
and members to learn more about neuromuscular diseases and to raise funds to support research, medical aids, and summer camp.
Project 1: Using
the Internet for research and using the resources listed below, write a report about MDA. The report should
be double-spaced using a 12 point font (Times New Roman or Arial) and MUST include the following sections (Titles, headings,
etc. can be in a larger font). The report MUST also include photos or other graphics which are to be inserted
into the report text (similar to the picture above). Since this report will involve scientific research
reporting, the student may want to check with his/her science teacher to see if credit can also be given in that class for
this report.
TOPICS THAT MUST BE INCLUDED:
What is the Muscular Dystrophy Association? (discuss
it’s history and current status along with who is MDA’s national chairman, it’s national goodwill ambassador,
and it’s national youth chairman, etc.)
What is a Neuromuscular Disease?
What are the Different
Types of Neuromuscular Diseases?
What Does MDA Provide? (discuss services,
support, Summer Camp, etc.)
What is the Current Research Finding on Neuromuscular
Disease? (discuss current medical treatments and what looks promising in the future—including stem cell research)
How Can DECA Help MDA? (describe examples of ways DECA chapters are helping out)
RESOURCES
Muscular Dystrophy Association. 3300 East Sunrise Drive,
Tucson, AZ 85718-3208. (520) 529-2000 or (800) 572-1717; Fax: (520) 529-5300. mda@mdausa.org. <http://www.mdausa.org/>.
Muscular Dystrophy Family Foundation. 2330 North Meridien Street, Indianapolis, IN 46208. (317) 923-6333 or (800)
544-1213; Fax: (317) 923-6334. mdff@mdff.org. <http://www.mdff.org/>.
Parent Project for Muscular Dystrophy Research. 1012 North University Blvd., Middletown, OH 45042. (413) 424-0696
or (800) 714-KIDS (5437); Fax: (513) 425-9907. ParentProject@aol.com. <http://www.parentprojectmd.org>.
MDA in the Marketing Classroom
Projects
Project 2: Using the research you collected in Project 1 (additional Internet research
can also be used), develop one activity that a DECA chapter could organize to raise at least $1,000 to donate to MDA.
Create and design a 3 column, double-sided brochure (total of 6 columns) to use with the activity to market it to the
public.
The
brochure should include:
« A cover page column
« Brief information about MDA
« Explanation of what your chapter is doing in the
activity
« Explanation of how people can help your chapter
raise
the funds
«
Contact information for your
chapter
«
Photos/clip art throughout
your brochure.
You may want to use a program such as Microsoft Publisher; however, this can
be created in Microsoft Word or another program. Be creative. Once you print the two
sides of your brochure, use a glue stick to glue the two pages front to back.
