SAN DIEGO TEEN RETURNS AS MDA YOUTH EMISSARY

TUCSON, Ariz., February 9, 1998 -- Amanda Van Benthuysen of San Diego will serve a second year as National Youth Chairperson for the Muscular Dystrophy Association.

Mandy, 17, a senior at Serra High School, and her family will travel the country in 1998, telling youth groups about MDA's programs of research and services, and recruiting teen-agers and young adults to volunteer to help MDA.

In announcing the appointment, MDA National Chairman Jerry Lewis said, "Mandy has been such a marvelous representative that we begged her to stay on another year. Wherever she goes, she makes a powerful impact with her tremendous intelligence, charm and upbeat attitude."

During her service as 1997 National Youth Chairperson, Mandy attended national conventions of such youth groups as Key Club International and Kappa Alpha Order. She also sent a videotaped message to the Distributive Education Clubs of America convention, went to a Citgo corporate golf tournament and attended an MDA summer camp.

"What I've learned this year is how involved high school and college kids are in helping MDA," Mandy said. "It's been fun, and a chance to meet a lot of people. I tell them that volunteering is important, for whatever cause."

A volunteer for MDA since the age of 8, Mandy gave several media interviews this year and made her second appearance on the national broadcast of MDA's Jerry Lewis Labor Day Telethon. On this year's show, she introduced and thanked representatives of high schools, colleges and youth organizations that had raised funds for MDA.

The daughter of Thom and Ginny Van Benthuysen of San Diego, Mandy has limb-girdle muscular dystrophy, a progressive neuromuscular condition which affects the muscles of the shoulders, lower trunk and upper legs. She uses a wheelchair part-time, and is also affected by juvenile arthritis.

The Van Benthuysens were featured at an orientation for emcees of the 1997 Telethon, and Mandy was pictured with Lewis on the cover of the Labor Day weekend issue of Parade magazine.

Mandy, who's currently helping MDA establish a special online chatroom for young people in the Association's internet Web site, plans to major in communications in college. She's active in student government and manages two sports team at her high school.

MDA is a voluntary health agency working to defeat 40 neuromuscular diseases through programs of worldwide research, comprehensive services, and far-reaching professional and public health education. Recognized by the American Medical Association with a Lifetime Achievement Award "for significant and lasting contributions to the health and welfare of humanity," MDA maintains 230 hospital-affiliated clinics that offer families the best in care for progressive neuromuscular diseases. The Association's programs are funded almost entirely by individual private contributors.

For more information, see the MDA Web site at www.mda.org, or call (800)572-1717.

Editor's Note: Read Mandy's bio or her Quest Magazine profile.