NY Athletes Come Together to Support Muscular Dystrophy Association

The Muscular Dystrophy Association’s 18th Annual Muscle Team Gala & Benefit Auction will take place this Tuesday, January 6 and will include athletes from Metro-New York area sports teams such as the New York Giants, New York Jets, and New York Red Bulls, plus representatives from the New York Aqueduct Racetrack, Muscle Team Alumni, and other celebrities and sports media. This year’s edition of the event, which is being held at Chelsea Piers’ Pier 60 restaurant, is not only about a night of sports and fun, but also about fundraising to support the Muscular Dystrophy Association and patients who suffer from the disease.

The members of the 2015 Muscle Team are going to partner up with an “MDA Buddy” — a child that is afflicted by a muscle condition — during the Gala. The athletes and their MDA Buddies usually meet before the Gala at a pre-event for the press, and they often establish a relationship beyond the event as well. This year the Muscle Team will be led by Coaches Richard Haray of the Interpublic Group and Ron LoRusso of Cushman & Wakefield.

In addition, local New York FOX5/My 9 News Sports Anchor Russ Salzberg is going to participate as Emcee of the Gala, while the former New York Giant and Super Bowl XXV MVP Otis Anderson will serve as the event’s Live Auctioneer. During the Gala, a 2015 Champion of Spirit Award will be given to Jason Dove of Palladium Window Solutions in recognition of his company’s work and commitment to improving the lives of patients fighting life-threatening muscle diseases in the local community.

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The 2015 MDA Muscle Team Gala & Benefit Auction is designed to offer guests the opportunity to meet and greet professional New York athletes who have embraced the cause to help fight muscle diseases by joining the 2015 Muscle Team. Attendees will also get to meet their MDA Buddies as well as other celebrities and top business executives. During the evening, guests will attend a VIP & Media Reception, pre-dinner cocktails, and a gourmet sit-down dinner at Chelsea Piers’ distinctive NYC waterfront setting at Pier 60.

There will also be live and silent auctions for unique fantasy packages, sports memorabilia, trips and the opportunity to sponsor a week at an MDA summer camp in Long Island for one pediatric patient.

The Gala was created in 1996 and has gone on to raise more than $18 million, which has been invested to support research and help advance scientific projects for finding new treatments and a cure for muscle disease. This year, the 2015 Muscle Team Gala & Benefit Auction is expected to raise more than $1 million to finance support groups and clinics, such as local MDA Clinics at Columbia University, Hospital for Special Surgery, NYU Langone Medical Center.

Tickets for the 2015 Muscle Team Gala & Benefit Auction and more information on the event are available on its website here or by calling Caity Connolly at (212) 682-5272. In addition to the Gala, the Muscular Dystrophy Association continues to support other initiatives to help improve the lives of patients who suffer from muscle conditions, such as muscular dystrophy, amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) and other neuromuscular diseases.