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Movie night benefits research
food pantry donations 1 jd
Linda Crenshaw and her son Bradley, hand over their canned goods as Meg Rueden gives out free popcorn and Chick Fil A coupons before the Thursday morning free family films start at Movies 400 in Cumming. - photo by Jim Dean
Guitars, chipmunks and helping kids overcome disease - about all that's missing from Saturday's "Movie Night for Mito" is a cool, dry weather forecast.
Organized by the United Mitochondrial Disease Foundation and the Mancuso family, the event starts at 5 p.m. in Joint Venture Park at Daves Creek.
It features games, crafts, activities, food, raffles, more than 100 door prizes, silent auction, Guitar Hero competition and an outdoor showing of "Alvin and the Chipmunks" at 9 p.m.
"We're just trying to raise awareness because most people have never heard of mitochondrial disease," said Nadine Mancuso, whose 21-month-old daughter Samanatha died after a prolonged struggle with the disease in 2004.
"After she passed away, I started volunteering, just trying to make her life have had a purpose, so what she went through wasn't in vain."
Proceeds from the event will benefit mitochondrial disease research, Mancuso said.
Mitochondrial disease, for which there is little treatment and no known cure, affects the body's ability to turn food into energy. Most children stricken with the disease do not survive beyond their teenage years, according to information on the foundation's Web site.
A range of ticket options is available for the evening's activities and raffle. Guitar Hero entries are $2 for one play or $5 for three, with the top two finishers battling it out on the big screen after the movie. Tickets for the movie are $10 per family.
No glass containers, alcohol or pets are permitted.
Organizers also will be supporting Children's Healthcare of Atlanta by collecting new coloring books and boxes of crayons.
The foundation has two other events planned for later in the year: a concert Sept. 27 in Alpharetta and a golf tournament Oct. 6 at the Standard Club in Duluth.