A&P FAMILY OF SUPERMARKETS RAISES RECORD AMOUNT IN CHARITY GOLF TOURNAMENT FOR MDA

MONTVALE, NJ — The 2006 Food Emporium Charity Golf Classic, presented by the Great Atlantic and Pacific Tea Company and its family of supermarkets, raised approximately $325,000 to benefit the tri-state area offices of the Muscular Dystrophy Association. This was the highest-earning year for the annual tournament, which began in 1996. Over the course of the past eleven years, The Food Emporium Charity Golf Classic has donated nearly $2 million to MDA’s continuing efforts in the fight against neuromuscular disease.
Over 400 golfers representing A&P supermarkets and the vendor community participated in this year’s event, which was held on Monday, July 17 at Fiddler’s Elbow Country Club in Far Hills, NJ. The tournament is made possible by the generous support of the A&P Family of Supermarkets—which includes A&P, Waldbaum’s, The Food Emporium, A&P Super Foodmart, Super Fresh, Food Basics, A&P Liquors, Farmer Jack, and Sav-a-Center— as well as the vendor community.
Following the tournament, golfers and sponsors attended a dinner and several auction events. Auction items were donated by area businesses, with all proceeds benefiting MDA. In addition, companies signed up to sponsor campers at MDA’s upcoming Summer Camps. These annual camps offer a week of recreational activities specially adapted to the needs and abilities of children with neuromuscular diseases, at no charge to campers’ families.
MDA Goodwill Ambassador Donovan Simpson attended the tournament and following events, accompanied by his parents. Donovan is a nine-year-old from Yonkers, NY with a diagnosis of Fridrichs Ataxia, which affects the legs, torso, balance and coordination. Donovan attends MDA summer camp in Spring Valley, NY, which will be from August 20-26, 2006.
The Food Emporium Golf Classic is a major annual event which is just one part of the A&P Family’s support for MDA. In February and March 2006, The Great Atlantic and Pacific Company donated over $230,000 to MDA which A&P Banner stores raised in their “Shamrocks Against Dystrophy” campaign. The A&P Family of Supermarkets is also about to kick off their “Aisles of Smiles” campaign for MDA. The funds raised by The Great Atlantic and Pacific Tea Company enable the Muscular Dystrophy Association to provide services and fund research for those families and individuals living with neuromuscular disease. MDA is proud to count The Great Atlantic and Pacific Tea Company as a partner in the fight against neuromuscular disease.
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