It wasn’t exactly your normal county jail.
Nearly 75 people were “locked up” at the Kellogg Center on Wednesday, but no one stood guard and the inmates roamed free, munching on doughnuts, drinking coffee and chatting with old friends via cell phones.
The jailbirds were all summoned to the makeshift jail between 9 a.m. and 5 p.m. as part of the Muscular Dystrophy Association’s Lockup program. Bail for the inmates was set at $1,000, but everyone was free to go after an hour.
“It’s a good cause and it’s a nice thing to do,” said John Jobson, interim assistant director of Student Life, who was locked up from 9 a.m. to 10 a.m. “But I’m not even close to my $1,000 bail.”
Each prisoner was asked beforehand if they would donate an hour to be in jail to raise money for the organization. Helen Earley, an East Lansing resident, said that when she received a phone call asking her to donate her time, she didn’t hesitate.
This particular lockup was aimed at the MSU community, with staff and students coming out to support the MDA. The South Central Michigan Chapter of the MDA puts on the program about 40 times a year in the nine communities it serves.
MDA funds a muscular dystrophy clinic on campus that serves more than 500 patients with the disease.
“It’s a long-standing tradition to have the MSU lockup,” said Sheri Eldred, district director of the chapter. “We like to showcase MSU because we do clinical research on campus.
“They’ve always been very supportive.”
Eldred said the lockup plays a major role in raising money for the organization.
“This is one of the main programs we have for fund raising since we don’t have federal funding or United Way” support, Eldred said. “This is our main venue for supporting our patient services program.”
MDA’s lockup raises money for children with muscular dystrophy and helps pay for some of their special needs.
Although donations vary in each community, the MDA lockup usually raises between $5,000 and $15,000. Eldred had hoped to raise $10,000 from the MSU lockup, but believes they will make much more when all the donations are in.
“The money helps out with flu shots, wheelchairs and camps,” said Ebony Middlebrook, an associate with MDA. “It helps with a lot of the funds the kids have that their parents can’t afford.”
