10th Passport to a Cure Raises $40K for Muscular Dystrophy Association

A trio of companies, comprised of CITGO Marketer Flash Market Inc., Core Mark and CITGO Petroleum Corporation recently hosted the 10th Annual Passport to a Cure benefit in Little Rock, Arkansas for the local chapter of the Muscular Dystrophy Association (MDA), the world’s leading non-profit organization for muscle disease, including muscular dystrophy, amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) and other neuromuscular diseases. The event successfully raised almost $40,000 for the not-for-profit organization, and featured a keynote address from Zack Arnold, the director and producer of “GO FAR: The Christopher Rush Story” — a movie about a boy with muscular dystrophy.

“We were so excited to welcome Zack Arnold to speak at our event,” said Heather Zimmerman, executive director at the MDA. “His film and adaptation of Christopher Rush’s story is a true inspiration. We were honored to hear Zack tell this story and help us in our efforts to fight these neuromuscular diseases.”

Zack Arnold talked about his film on the life of Christopher Rush, a Michigan local who was diagnosed with MD when he was only 7 months old. The Rush family were told Christopher would die before 2 years old, but he beat all odds when he was able to live a full life until he was 30 years old. To learn more about the film, visit www.gofarmovie.com.

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Alan Flagg, the assistant vice president of supply and marketing at CITGO, said MD affects a considerable number of people in the communities they service, which is why they are more than willing to support events that help boost awareness and open doors to much-needed funding for the search for a cure. “We’re grateful that Zack could join us and share his personal experiences with muscular dystrophy.”

To learn more about the Muscular Dystrophy Association, visit mda.org and follow them at facebook.com/MDAnational and @MDAnews on Twitter.

In other news on muscular dystrophy, Parent Project Muscular Dystrophy (PPMD) partnered with Solid Ventures (Solid), of Cambridge, Massachusetts, to work on a “Solid Suit” design for Duchenne patients. They are projecting it to be a soft-textured, wearable, assistive device that could be worn underneath clothing to improve upper and lower body function.