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Muscular Dystrophy Association's 8th Annual Nashville Muscle Team Gala Honors Local Nashville MDA Ambassador Megan DeJarnett on September 17 at 6pm
September is Muscular Dystrophy Awareness Month and funds raised go towards accelerating research, advancing care, and advocating to empower families living with neuromuscular diseases.
NASHVLLE, TN, August 5, 2024 – The Muscular Dystrophy Association (MDA) will hold the 8th annual MDA Nashville Muscle Team Gala on Tuesday, September 17 from 6-9pm at Marathon Music Works, honoring MDA Ambassador Megan DeJarnett of Nashville who lives with spinal muscular atrophy (SMA). Co-hosts Danielle Breezy, Chief Meteorologist at WKRN News, and Joe Breezy at WKRN News and nationally syndicated radio host of Mix 92.9 will emcee the event. Learn more about our sponsors, purchase tickets or make a donation here.
DeJarnett was diagnosed at the age of 2 with SMA, a genetic neuromuscular disorder that affects motor neurons in the spinal cord causing progressive muscle degeneration and weakness. “I’ve had a powerful ally in my corner throughout life’s challenges living with SMA, and that is my extended family at the Muscular Dystrophy Association. I’m thrilled to be honored at the annual MDA Nashville Muscle Team gala and can’t wait to celebrate with everyone as we raise awareness and funds for this mission,” said DeJarnett.
DeJarnett is an author, speaker, disability DEI educator, inclusion advocate, and influencer. At the age of two, she was diagnosed with SMA and has used a wheelchair ever since. As an MDA Ambassador, she shares her story and encourages others to look at life through a new lens. DeJarnett is a mother of three children including a child with a disability. She has a passion for teaching children the ways in which everyone is unique and emphasizing the ways in which that singularity makes them special. In 2020, she self-published her first children’s book, “No Such Thing as Normal.” It’s written to underscore the importance of inclusion and acceptance. Accompanying her book is a self-published coloring book, and her follow up, “Lovely as Can Be,” which she has expanded into four volumes. DeJarnett hopes to spread her life mission of living without limits through her books, public speaking and writing to those in the disability community and beyond.
Since the inception of MDA, the organization has invested more than $1 billion in research, in addition to funding over 150 MDA Care Centers nationwide, producing educational and recreational programs and support resources for families, and advocating for access to treatments, employment, education, travel and more. Locally, MDA funds the multidisciplinary medical teams at the MDA Care Center at Vanderbilt University Medical Center in Nashville, Tennessee. Funds raised also support MDA Summer Camp where children and young adults have a week-long transformative experience – at no cost to families.
“We are proud to bring the community together for this event in support of the Muscular Dystrophy Association’s mission,” said David Pietrzak, MDA Nashville Muscle Team Committee Chair. “We are looking forward to another fulfilling evening supporting families who are living with muscle diseases. Funds raised at the Gala will add to the over $1 million this event has contributed to in support of important research, care, and advocacy, and to assist families by sending children and young adults to MDA Summer Camp each year."
This year’s MDA Nashville Muscle Team Presenting Sponsor is Numotion. Our Champion Sponsors include CITGO Petroleum Corporation, and our Mission Sponsor, National Seating and Mobility. Our Care Sponsors include Reliability Medical, Permobil Foundation, HCA Healthcare along with our friends of MDA sponsors Vanderbilt University, Quantum, and Amylior. The partnership of these companies represents years of support and dedication to the families served by MDA.
MDA Nashville Muscle Team Committee: David Pietrzak - Committee Chair, Mary Avent, Kelli Beam, Nick Deluna, Corinne Grgas, Scott Hickman.
About Muscular Dystrophy Association
Muscular Dystrophy Association (MDA) is the #1 voluntary health organization in the United States for people living with muscular dystrophy, ALS, and related neuromuscular diseases. For over 70 years, MDA has led the way in accelerating research, advancing care, and advocating for the support of our families. MDA's mission is to empower the people we serve to live longer, more independent lives. To learn more visit mda.org and follow MDA on Instagram, Facebook, X, Threads, TikTok, LinkedIn, and YouTube.
