Labor Day celebrates the achievements of American workers, but it has also been a holiday long-associated with the Muscular Dystrophy Association’s Labor Day Telethon. The format of the show has changed over the years and it is now called the “MDA Show of Strength.” The goal remains the same though: to generate awareness of and support for the MDA’s mission. As the leading non-profit health agency working to provide services and secure a cure for a range of more than 40 neuromuscular disorders, the MDA has a tall order to fill.
But they haven’t had to go it alone. ERA Real Estate has been supporting the work of the MDA for more than 35 years. During that time, the ERA community has raised nearly $35 million dollars to fund research, advocacy and hope for thousands of families living with muscular dystrophy.
For all of those involved with the cause, it is truly a labor of love.
One of ERA Real Estate’s most passionate MDA supporters was man named Ed Bilinkas. In the last 15 years of his life, he raised more than half a million dollars for the cause. He was fond of saying, “I never met a stranger I wouldn’t ask for a donation to MDA.”
As his health declined, requiring a number of hospital stays, he told people, “Don’t send me flowers, give me a contribution to MDA.”
His single-minded focus and paramount passion continue to serve as an inspiration to those supporting MDA. But Ed Bilinkas also serves as a role model to all of us who aspire to make a difference in the world in our own special way. To paraphrase Shakespeare, love’s labor is never lost.
