His muscles are his kryptonite.

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2 His muscles are his kryptonite. Most superheroes battle for truth and justice and for those superheroes living with Muscular Dystrophy, every day is a brave battle against the disorder. You see, Muscular Dystrophy is a life-threatening disorder that affects people muscle by muscle - and young boys are most vulnerable to the severest form of the disorder, usually diagnosed between two and six. Please help us in our fight for a cure by joining National Superhero Week. Call (03) or visit to make a donation 2

3 Contents About the Event 4 History of Muscular Dystrophy Australia (MDA) 5 Superhero Testimonials 6 Communication Guidelines 7 Donating Funds 8 Additional Event Ideas for Schools 10 Newsletter Blurb and Assembly Speech 11 How to Host an Event at your Workplace 12 Other Events 12 Internal Communications for Businesses 13 How to Support Muscular Dystrophy Australia through Workplace Giving 13 Muscular Dystrophy Australia s National Superhero Week Competition 14 Sponsors: Ferguson Plarre Bakehouses & Lombard The Paper People Muscular Dystrophy #mdasuperheroweek #nationalsuperheroweek #mdasuperhero 3

4 About the Event National Superhero Week for Muscular Dystrophy is a week-long event in which people across Australia dress up as their favourite superhero to raise money for Muscular Dystrophy Australia s programs, services and research. The National Superhero Week program was born in 2000 and has been extensively used and expanded upon by Muscular Dystrophy Australia since. Heroes of all ages are encouraged to host an event during 2016 National Superhero Week (29th August 4th September), from kindergartens and schools, to workplaces and community groups... you are never too old to dress up! Muscular Dystrophy is a muscle wasting disorder and just one of 60 different neuromuscular disorders that affects one in every 625 people. The week-long event aims to show the Muscular Dystrophy community that Australia supports them and the important work of Muscular Dystrophy Australia. Further, it promotes a positive message for children living with Muscular Dystrophy; the disorder should not stop them from realising their full potential and they are superheroes for fighting against Muscular Dystrophy! The event also aims to give those living with Muscular Dystrophy and their families hope, by showing them they are not alone and their community is working to raise funds and find a cure. National Superhero Week also encourages people to be everyday superheroes by being aware of those around them and what other children and families may be going through and to always be kind and supportive. This is an important life lesson and even though our focus is on Muscular Dystrophy, the overall message is one of hope, acceptance and understanding. There are many ways to host a National Superhero Week event and this booklet outlines a few great event ideas, as well as other additional activities you can do on the day, from hosting a morning tea, to creating a system to vote for which superhero your boss will be! Funds raised from National Superhero Week will support Muscular Dystrophy Australia s quality of life programs and services, as well as research at the National Muscular Dystrophy Research Centre (NMDRC) and the Muscle Clinic at the Royal Children s Hospital. The theme of the superhero has been utilised by Muscular Dystrophy Australia for over 16 years, starting with a group of dads brainstorming how to portray their young boys with Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy to the public. The overall consensus was that the fathers considered their sons superheroes fighting a battle well above what any young child should have to face. National Superhero Week is a progression of this idea and is a way for Australians to raise awareness and much needed funds for this vital cause. 4

5 History of Muscular Dystrophy Australia Boris M Struk founded Muscular Dystrophy Australia (MDA) over 30 years ago, after discovering that his youngest son Ryan had the muscle-destroying disorder. Learning this news when Ryan was just an infant began Boris journey with the dedicated association MDA. Since its inception in 1984, MDA has provided more than half a million hours of respite for those in the community affected by Muscular Dystrophy, as well as over 225,000 hours of the support program Futures and more than 150,000 hours of student placement representing more than 5,500 tertiary education students supporting CampMDA. An integral role of MDA is to provide support and advice for families at the time of diagnosis as it is essential that families get the right information to understand the condition and plan for the future at such a difficult time. In total MDA has raised over $43 million dollars in funding for Muscular Dystrophy and provided in excess of one million hours of care and support for people with MD. In 2006 MDA began the ChallengeMD! fundraising event and to date this has raised a combined $2 million. MDA is reliant upon the support of individuals and the corporate sector to fund the many programs delivered to the MD community. MDA also has a strong commitment to research and is the major sponsor of the NMDRC based at the Murdoch Children s Research Institute in Melbourne. The NMDRC is the leading MD research centre in Australia and is committed to research initiatives that could offer new insights into the causes for neuromuscular disorders and ultimately offer hope that new treatments can be found. More than 30,000 Australians are currently affected by MD. MD manifest in the paediatric, teenage, middle aged and elderly. Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy (DMD) is the most severe form of MD and it mostly affects young boys. DMD gradually wastes all muscles forcing the permanent use of an electric wheelchair. While there are some genetic strains MD can also appear in any family with no prior history. To date, there is no cure for MD or any of the neuromuscular disorders. Muscular Dystrophies comprise of more than 60 neuromuscular disorders which currently affect one in every 625 people. 5

6 Superhero Testimonials We organised a Superhero Day at our factory and asked all tourists to dress in their superhero best to help raise much needed money and awareness for this amazing cause. We had jumping castles, superhero face painting, superhero scavenger hunts and themed food for all 600 patrons who visited throughout the day. We loved running this day and the locals want it to be an annual event. It s a great idea to highlight a great cause and the perfect excuse to dress up! ~ Junee Licorice and Chocolate Factory DPM were thrilled to take part in the 2015 Superhero Day and join the fight against Muscular Dystrophy. The office was buzzing with excitement and staff members were only too happy to don their favourite superhero outfits for the day! It has been our most successful internal fundraising campaign to date and we are looking forward to having these superheroes return to roam floors again next year! ~ Doquile Perrett Meade This is the second year our Mudgee team has been involved in National Superhero Week. It s a great day and the whole team has a lot of fun being a part of it. It was a great opportunity to raise awareness for Muscular Dystrophy, as well as raise funds through our sausage sizzle and lucky dip draw. We will continue to support this great cause. ~ Telstra We held our Superhero Day in the salon and all of our staff dressed up as superheroes. We decorated the salon and had posters and flyers in support of a local family who have three young boys recently diagnosed with Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy. All staff made a personal donation and we encouraged all of our clients to donate a gold coin for their cappuccinos, lattes, hot chocolates and other hot drinks, as well as having cupcakes for a gold coin donation. At the end of the day we were overwhelmed by the generosity of our clients donations and successfully reached and surpassed our target of $1,000. ~ El Artista Hairdressing Our service became involved in supporting National Superhero Week because this is a cause close to our hearts. National Superhero Week spreads awareness about Muscular Dystrophy and it helps to raise much needed funds for programs, research and education. Dressing as a superhero helps children to know that no matter who you are, we all have super powers. ~ Toybox Early Learning Muscular Dystrophy Australia s National Superhero Week is a great day that the Netwealth staff enjoyed very much they get the opportunity to let their inner child come out and get dressed up as their favourite superhero at work, whilst also raising awareness and funds for a great cause. ~ Netwealth Investments 6

7 Communication Guidelines You may be holding an event as part of National Superhero Week to support someone in your community who has Muscular Dystrophy. In consideration of this, when communicating about the event we ask that you please stay with the primary message of hope and support to find a cure. For child care centres and schools, please do not alter the content of the supplied newsletter blurb and assembly speech (page 11). It is important that information remain age appropriate to children and that the condition is referred to in general terms, as outlined in the information supplied by Muscular Dystrophy Australia. Specific facts to do with loss of mobility and life expectancy are not to be communicated, as they are distressing to young children both with and without Muscular Dystrophy. For more information on how to communicate about this event and the disorder, visit gov.au or contact Muscular Dystrophy Australia on (03) The following document provides a three minute checklist about the correct language to use when speaking about someone in your community with a disability: data/assets/pdf_file/0007/754351/dhs_ MediaGuides_Checklist.pdf Event Checklist STEP 1: PRIOR TO THE EVENT Included in this booklet is the newsletter blurb to help promote your National Superhero Week event. We advise you start promoting your event as early as possible to provide enough time for costumes to be organised. You may also like to distribute this blurb as a direct note to parents sent home with the children to advise on details of the day. Remind students at weekly assemblies to think of their costumes and encourage teachers to also dress up on the day. Let everyone know they can be creative and invent their own costume and also try to allocate art and craft time to creating them. Make sure to plan for a specific time on the event day to gather everyone together, such as an assembly, so the official assembly speech included in this booklet can be read to everyone. The day before the event, make an announcement reminding students to dress up and bring their gold coin donation. Allocate people to be responsible for the following tasks on the day: A person to collect all money donations in a secure and appropriate container A person to take photos of the children and teachers A person to read out the assembly speech STEP 2: PROCEEDINGS ON THE DAY Have the allocated person collect the donations making sure everyone provides a gold coin donation for dressing up. Also ensure someone is capturing photos of the day. Make an announcement in the morning thanking all the superheroes for attending. At the assembly have the nominated person read out the assembly speech making sure to highlight the reason for hosting the event is to create awareness about Muscular Dystrophy. Allow time in classes to have a discussion about Muscular Dystrophy and refer to the information included in this booklet to answer any questions. 7

8 Donating Funds This year Muscular Dystrophy Australia will be using the platform everydayhero for National Superhero Week. Everydayhero is a fantastic way for you to generate extra support for your event and fundraising efforts, as it has lots of interactive features including: Add your own story as to why you are supporting Muscular Dystrophy Australia Share your profile across social media in order to share your story with more people and encourage donations Your profile is interactive, you can post comments, other people can see their donations and a dialogue can be created There are a few different ways for you to choose how to send your funds raised to Muscular Dystrophy Australia: Option 1: Using your Everydayhero Page When you register through the National Superhero Week everydayhero page, a fundraising page will be automatically created for you. If you choose to use this as your primary fundraising mechanic, all donations will automatically be directed to Muscular Dystrophy Australia. Encourage your family, friends and colleagues to donate directly to your fundraising page: Share the link to your fundraising page via social media, and to everyone attending your National Superhero Week event Encourage people to click on the green 'Give Now' button They then fill in their details, make their donation and automatically receive their tax deductible receipt. They can also choose how they want to donate: Online via credit card or PayPal Offline by choosing the 'cash, cheque, BPAY' option. This gives them a pledge form which they use to make a BPAY gift, or they can take the pledge form to Australia Post and give over the counter Option 2 Direct deposit and using your personal Pledge Form This option allows you to collect cash/cheque donations and deposit them to your fundraising page or directly to Muscular Dystrophy Australia. If you would like to use your everydayhero page to promote your efforts, but will be collecting your funds in cash (e.g. gold coin donations for a morning tea) you have a few options. Whichever you choose, make sure you send Muscular Dystrophy Australia an before depositing your funds, stating your organisation name and method of payment to superhero@mda.org.au Direct Deposit to Muscular Dystrophy Australia National Australia Bank BSB: Account Number: By post Click the Download Pledge Form link on the right hand side of your page you must be logged in to view this link 8

9 Follow the instructions provided on the form to complete the payment Payments can be made via cash, cheque or BPAY Cash/Cheque Take your Pledge Form to your local Australia Post along with the cash or cheque. These funds will then be processed at Australia Post and transferred onto your online fundraising page. BPAY Log onto your internet or phone banking service and use the personalised Biller Code and Reference number from your Pledge Form to make a direct deposit from your bank account onto your National Superhero Week fundraising page. Then you can simply bank the funds into your own account or use the cash. Note: you will not receive a receipt for this type of payment unless you Muscular Dystrophy Australia with your transaction information as mentioned on the previous page. A letter of receipt will be issued as soon as we receive your donation notification and verify that the transaction has been completed. A Certificate of Appreciation will be posted separately in the following weeks. PHOTOGRAPHS OF YOUR EVENT Please send us some of your best event photos to be posted on Muscular Dystrophy Australia s Facebook page and in the quarterly publication Messenger to superhero@mda.org.au. Please obtain approval for the use of the photos prior to forwarding them, especially if the images contain children. Make sure to include the hashtags below when posting on social media! #mdasuperheroweek #nationalsuperheroweek #mdasuperhero Drop in You can drop your cash donations at Muscular Dystrophy Australia HQ 111 Boundary Road, North Melbourne, 3051 between 9:00am and 5:00pm Monday to Friday. Option 3: Didn t set up an online National Superhero Week fundraising page? The easiest way is to make a direct deposit to Muscular Dystrophy Australia after sending an stating your organisation name and deposit amount. Bank details for direct deposit: National Australia Bank BSB: Account Number:

10 Additional Event Ideas for Schools In addition to having teachers, staff and students dress up as superheroes for a gold coin donation, you might like to consider adding other fun activities to the day. Check out some popular ideas below: Host a bake sale: Students or teachers can bring food for a stall at lunchtime to raise extra funds. If students are bringing food, ask them to name their foods creatively such as: Kryptonite Kupcakes, Hulk Hotdogs or Spiderman Slice. A sausage sizzle for gold coin donations at lunchtime is also a fast and effective way to raise funds. Contacting your local CWA can also help ensure lots of delicious cakes are available to help raise additional funds. Host a morning/afternoon tea: Invite parents to join in on the event by having either a morning or afternoon tea specifically for parents and teachers. Ask parents to bring a plate and make a donation to attend. This is a great way of allowing parents to be involved in the event and stay for assembly. Add exercise: Host a superhero race or obstacle course on the school oval or in a clear office space. Encourage teachers and parents to join; it s not just kids who love a race! Teacher involvement: Ask teachers to dress up or have their class create a superhero identity for them and make their costume out of arts and craft items. Host a superhero parade: Have students and teachers show their costumes in a parade either at lunchtime or during assembly. COSTUME IDEAS Batman Superman Spider-Man Luke Skywalker Princess Leia Iron Man Batgirl Wonder Woman Buzz Lightyear Harry Potter Hermione Mystique (X-Men) The Incredibles Green Lantern Ninja Turtles Catwoman Sailor Moon The Joker Invent your own superhero! 10

11 Newsletter Blurb [Insert your school s name] has chosen to support Muscular Dystrophy Australia s National Superhero Week by hosting a Superhero Day, where a gold coin donation will allow students to dress up as their favourite superhero or even invent one! The dress up day will be held on [Insert your chosen date and explain any additional activities for the day] We are aiming to empower young minds to be more aware of those around them and what other children may be going through. This is an important life lesson and even though our focus is on Muscular Dystrophy, the overall message is one of hope, acceptance and understanding. Proceeds from the event will support Muscular Dystrophy Australia s programs and services, as well as research at the National Muscular Dystrophy Research Centre to give families hope by showing them they are not alone and their community is working to raise funds to help find a treatment. Assembly Speech Good [morning / afternoon] everyone, Thank you all for dressing up, everyone looks fantastic and it s an exciting day to be surrounded by so many superheroes! I would like to take this moment to explain why we are all here showing off our own super powers. Proceeds from the money you raise today are going towards programs and research to find a cure for Muscular Dystrophy. Muscular Dystrophy is a condition which weakens a person s muscles. It affects one in every 625 people and any person could be born with this disorder. Their muscles are their Kryptonite, but those living with Muscular Dystrophy develop special powers of resilience, creativity, and endurance to fight the disorder. Today we re celebrating every single person s special powers and how we can all be superheroes every day by always being kind and looking out for those in our community living with a disability. Thank you for supporting National Superhero Week for Muscular Dystrophy and proving that everyone can be a superhero! 11

12 How to Host an Event at your Workplace Workplaces are varied in size, structure and location, however National Superhero Week is an event which can be adapted and tailored to suit every size and type of organisation. The goal for this event is to raise much needed funds for Muscular Dystrophy Australia s research, programs and services, whilst also raising awareness about the disorder. The way this objective is achieved can be modified to work within the parameters of your business. See below for ideas on how to host a Superhero Day event at your workplace as part of National Superhero Week 2016: Choose a day and have everyone dress up as a superhero for a donation to take part. Set a theme for the whole office (e.g. Marvel comics, cartoon characters, Disney characters, real life superheroes, etc.) To dress up as those characters will require a donation. Run a competition within your office for people to make donations to bid on what others should dress as. Then before the event, tally the scores and let people know what they have been voted to wear. Set a goal donation amount for team members and if it s reached, the boss has to dress up in a costume chosen by the team members. If you work in a retail store, you can have all team members dress up and collect donations from customers. Hosting a fun superhero trivia night may suit your workplace and team members. Friday after work superhero themed drinks are always a fun idea! Other Events You may like to host a sausage sizzle at your local sporting event to raise money for National Superhero Week. You could ask your local community group to choose Muscular Dystrophy Australia as their preferred charity for their upcoming fundraising events. Hosting a superhero themed dinner with your friends and family where each person makes a donation to participate might be a fun way for you to support National Superhero Week. The possibilities are only limited by your imagination! To have a chat about how you would like to host the event, call MDA on (03)

13 Internal Communications for Businesses [Insert your organisation s name] has this year chosen to support Muscular Dystrophy Australia s National Superhero Week by hosting a Superhero Day at the office, where a donation will allow all [Insert your organisation s name] team members to dress up as a superhero. The dress up day will be held on [Insert your chosen date and explain any additional activities for the day]. Muscular Dystrophy is a muscle wasting disorder and young boys and girls are the most vulnerable. The week-long event aims to promote a positive message and give hope to the one in 625 men, women and children living with Muscular Dystrophy, their families and loved ones, by showing them they re not alone and their community is working to raise funds and find a timely solution for treatment options. National Superhero Week also encourages people to be everyday superheroes by being aware of those around them and what other people may be going through and to always be kind and offer support. This is an important life lesson and even though our focus is on Muscular Dystrophy, the overall message is one of hope, acceptance and understanding. Proceeds from the event will support Muscular Dystrophy Australia s programs and services, as well as research at the NMDRC. The funds raised are vital to ensure MDA is able to continue the services it provides, however the awareness that even the smallest of events raises goes such a long way to helping everyone in the Muscular Dystrophy community. How to Support Muscular Dystrophy Australia through Workplace Giving Workplace or Payroll Giving is a great way for team members and employers to support Muscular Dystrophy Australia, who provide care and assistance for people living with Muscular Dystrophy, as well as their families. Workplace Giving enables team members to donate money directly via their pre-tax pay on a regular basis, thereby receiving a tax deduction. Team Members: You can support Muscular Dystrophy Australia through your company s Workplace Giving Scheme. If your organisation does not have a Workplace Giving program, the Charities Aid Foundation ( can assist you. Just select Muscular Dystrophy Australia as your nominated charity. Employers: Workplace Giving can be easily managed through your normal payroll system. There are no tax forms to fill out and all employees on the Pay As You Earn tax system may join the program. You can find the guidelines regarding your obligations in Workplace Giving at the Australian Tax Office website at Ask your employer about supporting Muscular Dystrophy Australia through Workplace Giving today! 13

14 Muscular Dystrophy Australia s National Superhero Week competition Enter Muscular Dystrophy Australia s National Superhero Week competition for your chance to win a share in some fantastic prizes! See this guy below? This is Muscular Dystrophy Australia s very own superhero! He s joining the family for National Superhero Week 2016 but there s one big problem nobody knows who he is! He doesn t have a name, we don t know his super power and we don t even know his background or where he came from. We think it s a bit of a problem and that s why we re calling on all you superheroes out there to help! In 300 words or less, tell us who this super guy is by answering the following questions: 1. What is his superhero name? 2. What is his background or his story, where did he come from, how did he become a superhero? 3. And most importantly, what is his superpower? Submit your applications to mdasupercomp@mda.org.au for your chance to share in some fantastic prizes as well as attend Muscular Dystrophy Australia s National Superhero Week Morning Tea* where the Muscular Dystrophy Australia superheroes name, persona and superpower will be revealed. Entries close 5:00pm on Monday August 22nd, one entry per person. *Please note Muscular Dystrophy Australia s National Superhero Week Morning Tea is held in Melbourne CBD and travel is not provided as part of this prize. 14

15 Help us Fifight Muscular Dystrophy From the first day my son Ryan was diagnosed with Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy, I set out to try to change the catastrophic outcome the disorder had in store for him. Muscular Dystrophy is a devastating muscle destroying disorder and through our combined efforts today, Muscular Dystrophy Australia is a reliable, robust and respected organisation providing support, services and funding research with the hope of making a difference. I am asking you to come on board and help me Fight Muscular Dystrophy. HELP FIGHT FOR TRUTH, JUSTICE AND A CURE FOR MUSCULAR DYSTROPHY Rubies Deerfield is pleased to announce it will again partner with Muscular Dystrophy Australia to support National Superhero Week. Why Superhero Week? Children battling Muscular Dystrophy are the real superheroes. They re fighting a battle well above what any young child should have to face. A muscle wasting disorder, Muscular Dystrophy currently affects one in 625 Australians. As well as raising money, National Superhero Week provides a means for us to support these young heroes impacted by Muscular Dystrophy. Just like a comic book hero, children living with Muscular Dystrophy demonstrate superhuman strength and powers. Their resilience, creativity and wisdom beyond their years are but a few of their super powers. This is your opportunity to step out and be a hero to the cause. Help Rubies Deerfield support Muscular Dystrophy Australia and moreover, help our young Australians in their quest to improve care and ultimately find a cure. 15

16 Try telling him his muscles are his weakness! Before he can save the world from disaster, this little superhero has a battle of his own, his fight against Muscular Dystrophy. Muscular Dystrophy is a life threatening, muscle wasting disease that affects people muscle by muscle - and young boys are the most vulnerable to the severest form of Muscular Dystropy. Please help us in our fight for a cure by joining National Superhero Week. Call (03) or visit to make a donation 16

17 Ferguson Plarre Bakehouses Ferguson Plarre Bakehouses is proud to once again support Muscular Dystrophy Australia s National Superhero Week. This year we are thrilled to announce that during National Superhero Week (August 29 - September 4) $1 from every Muscular Dystrophy Superhero Cupcake sold at all Victorian stores will go straight back to programs, services and research for the Muscular Dystrophy community. We will also be providing many of our delicious treats for Muscular Dystrophy Australia s National Superhero Week Morning Tea. The Muscular Dystrophy Australia team does amazing on the ground work with families and we are thrilled to be able to support this important work in any way we can. Lombard The Paper People Lombard The Paper People supports Muscular Dystrophy Australia s National Superhero Week because everyone deserves to be a hero! As a family owned and run business, we care for our community and know the importance of making a difference. We encourage everyone to stop and think how they can give back and make someone feel like a hero! 17

18 MDA Head Offfiice 111 Boundary Road North Melbourne Vic 3051 Phone: (03) Fax: (03)