LOS ANGELES, Sept. 7 (UPI) -- Organizers of the annual Muscular Dystrophy Association telethon said the event fell short of its goal this year, due mainly to Hurricane Frances.
The telethon raised $59.4 million, down 1.8 percent from last year's total.
TV stations in Jacksonville, Tampa, Sarasota and Gainesville canceled their broadcasts of the telethon and other Florida stations aired only the national portion of the program.
During the final hours of the telethon -- which was dedicated to the late child-poet Mattie Stepanek -- MDA Chairman Jerry Lewis and Stepanek's mother, Jeni Stepanek, appealed to viewers to help make up for the Florida shortfall -- but contributions came up just short.
"Even now, Mattie continues to perform miracles," said Lewis at the end of the 21 1/2-hour telethon Monday. "Without the love and hope that Mattie inspired in millions of Americans, there's no way we would have come so close to reaching our goal in the face of such overwhelming odds."
Stepanek, the MDA's 13-year-old National Goodwill Ambassador, died June 22 from complications associated with his rare neuromuscular disease, mitochondrial myopathy. Lewis said the telethon would bounce back with a bigger and batter effort next year.
