Sailormen Inc. Raises $838,358 in Two Events to Support MDA

Margarida Azevedo, MSc avatar

by Margarida Azevedo, MSc |

Sailormen Inc. fundraisers for MDA

Two annual fundraisers – the 2016 Appetite for a Cure and the Annual MDA Golf Classic – raised a recordbreaking $838,358 combined for children and adults suffering from muscular dystrophy (MD) and related muscle-degenerating diseases.

The fundraisers were organized and carried out by by Sailormen Inc., one of the biggest national franchisees of Popeyes Louisiana Kitchen restaurants.

“The relationship between MDA (Muscular Dystrophy Association) and Sailormen is a testament to their longstanding commitment to help bring strength, independence, and life to hundreds of local kids and adults living with life-threatening muscle diseases,” Regina Morales, MDA’s director of business development, said in a press release.

“It is with support from Sailormen/Popeyes that we are able to provide families with the care they need today, while helping to make tomorrow free from the diseases themselves,” she said.

Sailormen Chairman Bob Berg said he’s proud of the employees, customers, and business partners of Sailormen/Popeyes who come together every year to support such a worthy cause.

“The MDA Golf Classic brings the community together to help raise significant funds that will help MDA provide its families with the critical resources they need to live longer and grow stronger,” Berg said. “This year’s golf tournament, combined with what the stores raised with our ‘Appetite for a Cure’ campaign, we donated more than $838,358 to MDA, and we hope to make each year more successful than the last.”

The money raised in the two campaigns will help the MDA fund promising research and life-enhancing programs, like support groups or the MDA Care Centers. The financial support also helps send children to the weeklong barrier-free MDA Summer Camp at Gold Coast Camp in Lake Worth, Florida.

This year’s Appetite for a Cure program ran from Feb. 1 through March 20 at all participating Popeyes restaurants in South Florida in the Southeast U.S. The 2016 campaign raised over $100,000 more than last year by selling $1 coupon cards worth $30 to be used in free and discounted items in the future.

In addition, the Sailormen Inc. Golf Classic celebrated its 12th anniversary on May 12 in Miami Lakes, Florida, at Don Shula’s Golf and Country Club. More than 40 companies sponsored the premier golf event. Since 2002, Sailormen Inc.’s fundraising efforts have contributed more than $5 million for the MDA cause.