Baton Rouge business, civic leaders go behind bars to support MDA'S ALS Awareness Month

Over 50 business and civic leaders from throughout the Baton Rouge area will be "arrested"

and put "behind bars" for the Muscular Dystrophy Association's Lock-Up fundraiser on Thursday, May 23, 2013 at Carrabba's Italian Grill on Corporate Blvd. The Lock Up event will be held from 11 a.m.-2 p.m., with our own Sheriff Gautreaux being locked up around 11:30 a.m.

Accused of having Big Hearts and being heavily armed with kindness, the "Jailbirds" volunteered to be part of MDA's Lock-Up in order to raise "bail" by encouraging friends, family, co-workers and business contacts to make contributions to MDA that will directly benefit families in the Southeast region living with progressive muscle diseases.

Many wonderful citizens and key community leaders like our own Sheriff Sid Gautreaux will be locked up for this worthy cause on Thursday, May 23 at Carrabba's Italian Grill. Each MDA jailbird's "bail" has been set at $1,200, which will allow him/her to be released for good behavior. The focus of the lock-up is to "Strike Out ALS" (Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis) by raising funds for important research and clinic services.

MDA also assists jailbirds in creating personalized Lock-Up donation websites to help raise their bail ahead of time online. The links for these websites can be emailed to friends, family and co-workers who could make secure online donations. "It's truly amazing how our community jailbirds have rallied around MDA and are doing a great job as they continue to raise bail donations," explained Alicia Murphy, MDA Executive Director. "The actual day of the Lock-Up at Carrabba's Italian Grill will be a fun celebration of the work each person did to help families who live right here in our community."

Carrabba's Italian Grill has previously partnered with the MDA for our Lock Up events and we are very excited for them to host this event again. "Proprietor Sean Edwards is truly a friend of MDA", states Alicia Murphy, MDA Executive Director," and we truly appreciate his generosity to our organization."

For more information about MDA's Lock-Up campaign, please contact Alicia Murphy, Executive Director at 225-761-7010 or amurphy@mdausa.org.