Body Shop Manager Trying To Avoid 'Lockup'

Linda Virgilio, manager of the Body Shop at 63 Central St., is counting on your help to stay out of a mock 'lockup'.

All she needs is for enough kind souls to donate a total of $1,600 to the Muscluar Dystrophy Association on her behalf. Then she can avoid "incarceration" at Channel 5's studio in Boston at 1170 Soldiers Field Road, where she'll be taken at 11 a.m. Sept. 1 if donors don't help her raise the money for the charity.

Virgilio said she learned she was signed up for the fundraiser from an e-mail. Apparently, she said, someone thought she was a good sport. While she said she'd like to find out who that person was, it turns out she has a soft spot for these types of funraisers, which were run regularly in Medfield when she was growing up. She and her fellow employees at the shop have decided to contribute 5 percent of the store's proceeds on Wednesday to the MDA. Also, she said, she's considering buying an orange jumpsuit for her stay in Boston, just in case.

Notice of her impending lockup came from the local Muscular Dystrophy fundraising office, which covers Wellesley, Needham and Dover.

According to the MDA website, there are nine types of muscular dystrophy, a group of genetic, degenerative diseases primarily affecting voluntary muscles. Proceeds from the lockup fundraiser pay for research, multidisciplinary medical clinics, MDA summer camps, support groups, flu shots, and support for Muscular Dystrophy patients.

If residents want to help Virgilio raise the money, they can stop in to the shop with donations or a check made out to the Muscular Dystrophy Association. They can also donate at the MDA site.