Join MDA's Hop-A-Thon Program!
The MDA Hop-a-Thon is a disability awareness and educational program that helps teach children the three core values of Awareness, Acceptance and Assistance to others. All Hop-a-thon materials are free to teachers and schools.
Teachers can download a free Hop-a-Thon Teacher’s Guide which includes a five-day complete lesson plan on disability awareness and acceptance, and additional resources for teaching children about disabilities and the importance of helping others.
"I absolutely love helping MDA because they supply our school with a wonderful curriculum that teaches our children about children with disabilities. This is my main reason for choosing this fundraiser—along with the fact that all the money raised goes to help children in our area with a form of muscular dystrophy.
I hope that everyone can find it in their hearts to help this wonderful cause. Remember, even in these trying times, families need support for medical and emotional care. We hope you too will participate in the MDA Hop-a-Thon ."
-Lisa Robb,
Kensington School
Illinois
Hop-a-Thon Lessons
The Hop-a-Thon lesson plans offer schools a great way to generate positive publicity about the school and community, and to educate the public on disability awareness and diversity.
The five-day Hop-a-Thon lesson plan includes:
- Teaching children and their parents about muscles, and physical differences and abilities between all people.
- Helping children learn about diversity and accepting all kinds of people and disabilities.
- Providing children with a hands-on approach to the importance of helping others.
- Teaching children a fun, new activity to give them a keen sense of pride and accomplishment.
Register your School or Center:
- Go to mdahops.org and click Register
- Enter your information and choose “School Coordinator”
- Enter your school or center’s name as the “Team Name”
Tip: Include your City & State in the team name so donors can find you easily if they do a search (i.e. Team Name: “ABC School, Chicago, IL”) - The registration process will guide you through the rest of the setup.
- Invite your hoppers to join your team by sharing your team page.
Hop-a-Thon Materials
After registering, you will have access to the following digital materials (Click the "Resources" icon at the top of the page - you must be logged in to access the resources).
- Teachers Guide - Includes a five-day complete lesson plan on disability awareness and acceptance.
- Everybody's Different Nobody's Perfect - Brochure that helps children better understand how to accept others. (to read aloud to class).
- Flip Flop Hop Book - for children to take home and share with their families
- Sponsor Sheet - Information for parents about what the children will be learning during the week.
- Account Form - Form to document and remit funds raised to MDA.
- Barometer Poster - To measure fundraising
- Hopper Thank You Certificate
- Disability Awareness Checklist
- Scavenger Hunt
- Popsicle Stick Puppet Worksheet
If you have questions about the MDA Hop-a-Thon disability awareness program, please e-mail us at mdahops@mdausa.org