NEW YORK, March 31 /PRNewswire/ -- Greg and Mindy Scheier announced today that they will be hosting OlliePalooza, a benefit for The United Mitochondrial Disease Foundation, in honor of their four year-old son, Oliver, on April 25, 2009 at Strata in New York City. OlliePalooza will be an evening of fantastic food, drinks, live and silent auctions, and fun that seeks to honor Oliver and the thousands of children affected by mitochondrial disease. The event will be sponsored by JETT Vodka, Hint Essence Water and MyWorkButterfly.com.

Mitochondrial diseases are those disorders that affect the function of the mitochondria, the specialized compartments present in every cell of the body except red blood cells. Mitochondria are responsible for creating more than 90% of the energy needed by the body to sustain life and support growth. When they fail, less and less energy is generated within the cell.

"Oliver has suffered from hypotonia (low muscle tone) and poor weight gain since infancy," says Mindy Scheier. "As a result, his muscle strength and growth is severely compromised and he is unable to thrive in the timeframe and manner of other four year-olds. Our goal with OlliePalooza is to celebrate Oliver and all of the other children affected and bring this very important disease more to the forefront."

According to the United Mitochondrial Disease Foundation, every thirty minutes a child is born who will develop mitochondrial disease by age 10. Chuck Mohan, CEO and Executive Director of the United Mitochondrial Disease Foundation, pointed out that, "This event and all that Greg and Mindy are doing will not only help their son but thousands of children living with this disease nationwide."

Tickets for OlliePalooza are $100 and can be pre-ordered until Friday, April 24th at http://www.umdf.org/olliepalooza. Donations to UMDF can also be accepted at the website.

SOURCE UMDF