Mometrix August 2011 MDA Fundraising Campaign

From: Jay Willis, Vice President of Sales, Mometrix Media LLC

Dear Friend,

Thank you for your interest in Mometrix products!

You probably came to our site to order study materials, but first, if you will indulge me, I'd like to tell you about my family's personal journey with muscular dystrophy.

I don’t like to ask for help. Neither does my five year old son, Benjamin, who has muscular dystrophy. While he can’t run, jump or get up from the floor, he has the determination to do as much as he can by himself. What I’ve learned from Benjamin is that there are some things you just can’t do by yourself, that’s why I’m asking for your help.

Benjamin was born in July of 2006 and we couldn’t have been more excited to welcome him into our home. All of the sleepless nights and diaper changes were small inconveniences we gladly accepted as we adjusted to life with a newborn.

For the first 18 months, Benjamin developed just like most other children. We watched as Benjamin learned to smile, laugh, sit up, crawl and walk at the expected pace. We took as many pictures as we could (just like most first-time parents) and enjoyed every stage of his development. We couldn’t have been more excited about our child and were looking forward to all of the things we would be able to do together as a family in the years to come.

It wasn’t until just after Benjamin’s second birthday that we noticed something was wrong. He had trouble getting up from the floor and was falling a lot. We tried to dismiss it and assumed his balance and strength would improve as he got older. It wasn’t until two different pediatric nurses suggested we take him to a neurologist that we started to think his condition was not improving.

The neurologist confirmed our deepest fear - Benjamin has muscular dystrophy. What the neurologist initially thought might be Duchenne turned out to be Spinal Muscular Atrophy (both types of muscular dystrophy). In an instant, the hope that Benjamin would have a normal childhood was gone.

Since that day we have learned a lot about the many forms of muscular dystrophy and about Spinal Muscular Atrophy (SMA). To put it simply, Benjamin lacks the ability to produce a specific protein his body needs in order to keep the communication flowing between his brain and his muscles. Children with Spinal Muscular Atrophy typically experience muscle atrophy because the signal from their brain does not make it to their muscles. It would be similar to the loss of movement one would experience from a spinal cord injury where they became a quadriplegic, except that SMA is a gradual loss of movement throughout the entire body over time, and those afflicted maintain feeling throughout their entire body.

We are grateful that Benjamin’s condition is mild compared to children with other, more severe forms of muscular dystrophy. Knowing the high medical costs we face, I cannot imagine the medical costs parents of children with more severe forms of muscular dystrophy endure just to keep these precious children alive for another day… hoping each day will bring them closer to a cure… and that their child will make it to see that day. We are just hoping they will find a cure while Benjamin can still walk.

I’m willing to share Benjamin’s story with you because we need your help. Mometrix is sponsoring me to raise money for the Muscular Dystrophy Association (MDA) and will donate 10% of August sales that come through my division to research.

Here’s how you can help:

1. Please don't buy anything if you don't need it, but if you or someone you know is looking to take a standardized exam within the next year, please visit www.MometrixCatalog.com or use the search box above to see if we have any study materials that might be of help. Using the study materials for the GRE (before working for the company), I improved my score by 200 points. Ultimately the quality of their test-prep material is what brought me to work for the company three years later.
   
   We have study materials for over 1000 different standardized exams, including:
   • College Entrance Exams (ACT, SAT, COMPASS, ACCUPLACER, CLEP, AP)
   • Teacher Certification Exams (Praxis II, TExES, CSET, FTCE, GACE, MTTC, NYSTCE)
   • Medical/Nursing Exams (TEAS, HESI, NCLEX, ARDMS, CNS)
   • Insurance Exams (Property & Casualty, Life & Health)
   • Financial Exams (Series 3, 6, 7, 24, 30, 62, 63, 65, 66, 87, CPA, CMA)
   • Dental Exams (CDA, NBDE, Orthodontic)
   • Military Exams (ASVAB, DSST)
   • Graduate & Professional School Exams (GRE, MAT, MCAT, GMAT)
2. If you do not know anyone who has a standardized exam coming up within the next year, please consider giving directly to MDA to help Benjamin and other children like him who have muscular dystrophy. Any amount will help, even if it’s just $5.
3. If you were looking to purchase study materials from Mometrix, but had planned to wait until September or later this year, please consider making your purchase in August instead.
4. Whether you’re in the market for study materials or not, please share this information with as many other people as you can. You never know who else might be willing to help.

While it may not seem like one person can make a difference, if we all thought that way, nothing significant would ever be accomplished. You can make a difference and we would appreciate your help.

Sincerest Thanks,

Visit the MDA Homepage

Jay Willis

Vice President of Sales

Mometrix Media LLC

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