Getting 'locked up' to benefit MDA

If you receive a phone call Tuesday that begins with the words, “Help! I’ve been locked up!” — don’t panic.

More than 40 Green Valley community leaders are being “thrown in jail” at the annual Muscular Dystrophy Association Lock-Up next week, and to be freed, they’ll need your help.

Bail for each is set at $1,300, a sum that would send two local children with neuromuscular disease, ages 6-21, to an MDA summer camp that has been adapted for their special needs.

Volunteers — er, friendly parole officers — will make the arrests Tuesday morning, and prisoners will be taken to jail (The Grill on the Green restaurant at Canoa Ranch Golf Course), where they will have from 10 a.m.-2 p.m. to make their bail calls. Cash, checks, and credit cards will be accepted.

“The MDA sponsors six to eight Lock-Up’s a year, and Green Valley has always been an extremely supportive community,” said Chris Tompkins, a representative for the association’s Southern Arizona chapter.

“We would never turn down a child who wants to attend camp, but the organization, and the children, really benefit from your donations,” he said.

The jailbirds were nominated by friends and employers, and represent a myriad of local organizations, such as the Continental School District and Green Valley Fire District.

Mugshots will be taken in a fake jail cell, and to keep the inmates energized and in good spirits, they’ll be served the restaurant’s version of traditional prison cuisine: bread and water.

For more information about Tuesday’s Lock-Up or the Muscular Dystrophy Association, call the Southern Arizona chapter at 795-3434.

jrichardson@gvnews.com | 547-9726