I made my showbiz debut way back when I was 5 years old, singing one of the best-known American songs of the Great Depression, “Brother, Can You Spare a Dime?”

 

I’m humming that tune in my head as I write this. But times have changed, as anybody who’s bought a gallon of gas lately knows. So nowadays I’m singing, “Brother, Can You Spare a Ten?”

Why should you give me $10? Because that money will go a lot further with me than it will in your car, believe me.

 

My MDA Labor Day Telethon will turn your $10 into lifesaving research, medical clinics, wheelchairs, support groups, summer camp for kids – in short, your $10 will bring help and hope to thousands of people affected by muscular dystrophy and related diseases. Just try getting that kind of satisfaction at the gas pump.

 

The good news about muscle disease – the news I’m going to be spreading across the land this Labor Day weekend -- is this: We can do something about it. Now. You and me.

 

Research progress is picking up speed at an ever-increasing pace. Scientists are making headway on therapies and cures for diseases that have devastated families for centuries. One of the most notable examples is the 2006 approval by the Food and Drug Administration of the enzyme replacement therapy Myozyme for children with Pompe disease. You want proof that Muscular Dystrophy Association-supported research is a good investment? How about this: Children are alive today who would not be here without this treatment.

 

The hot news this year is Duchenne muscular dystrophy research. DMD, which is caused by a lack of the protein dystrophin, often snuffs out lives in young adulthood. But two promising therapies currently being developed by MDA-supported scientists basically trick flawed genes into producing usable dystrophin. More dystrophin, more muscle strength – and hopefully more years in which young men with DMD can enjoy their lives.

 

These are the sorts of rewards Telethon dollars reap — and it’s only the beginning. Spine-tingling progress is being made in many of the 40-plus diseases covered by MDA.

 

Every Labor Day weekend for more than four decades, I’ve asked the American public to help me raise one dollar more than we raised the year before for MDA and the good work it does. We’ve brought out singers, comedians, family members, big blue dancing bears — all to capture your attention and say, “Hey! Your pledge will make a big difference in the lives of my kids!”

 

I want to thank you from the bottom of my heart for making that difference. The research progress, the emotional, medical and financial support for people coping with these diseases – none of that would be possible without the ongoing generosity of people like you.

 

So buddy, can you spare a ten? I promise you I’ll put it to good use. And instead of driving someplace and using up all that gas this Labor Day weekend, stay home, pull up a chair and join me on the Telethon. Together, we just might make another miracle.

 

Jerry Lewis is national chairman of MDA. The Jerry Lewis MDA Telethon begins at 9 p.m. Eastern time Aug. 31. Check listings for times and channels, or go to www.mda.org.

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