Northern Virginia Couple Honored at Inaugural Ball

Jenny and Joel Kobersteen are dedicated Muscular Dystrophy Association volunteers whose generous service earned them a tribute Sunday at the fifth All American Inaugural Ball.

The Kobersteens were nominated by the Muscular Dystrophy Association’s (MDA) Greater Washington, D.C. MDA for their “unwavering support for MDA.” Together with Fairfax County firefighters, police officers and local businesses, they help raise more than $500,000 for MDA’s Fill the Boot program every year. They also are dedicated volunteers for MDA’s annual summer camp.

Joel is a master technician for Fairfax County Fire & Rescue. Jenny is a registered nurse who works as a Patient Care Supervisor at Mary Washington Hospital in Fredericksburg.

“Jenny spends two weeks straight caring for our kids at summer camp and ensuring we can create a safe and joyous environment for them,” Stephanie Hall, fundraising coordinator for Greater Washington MDA said. “Joel brings the fire truck to camp and works the barbecue grill to ensure the kids get a great meal," she said. "They appear at every event we ask them to, keeping up with campers and families throughout the year. They are an endless support system to our families.”

The Kobersteens said they are “humbled” by the honor, having met some “truly remarkable people from the families that MDA serves.”

“Fill the Boot is a natural extension of our jobs as firefighters and dispatchers,” Joel said. “Our jobs involve going out of our way, and sometimes out of our comfort zones, to help people. As exhausting as Fill the Boot is, being able to look back and say that we were part of a campaign that donated over half of a million dollars per year to families living with neuromuscular disease is incredibly rewarding.”

"I'm grateful to have met some outstanding children and have made some lifelong friends working with MDA," Jenny said. "Being a part of the team of volunteers that allows for the families to have a break while their children have a magical time at camp is very gratifying.”

Mary Washington Healthcare provided this information to Patch.