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The Connecticut-Rhode Island Chapter works to improve the quality of life for people affected by MS in Connecticut and Rhode Island raise funds for critical MS research. Join the movement toward a world free of MS.

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Friends Honored For Raising More Than $100K For MS

March 14, 2016

Emcee Mike Stacy helps present Tom Patterson and Lee Carney the Mission Champion award with National MS Society, Connecticut Chapter, president Lisa Gerrol at the Chapter’s Annual Meeting Sunday, March 6, in Rocky Hill.
WESTPORT, Conn. – Nine years ago this winter, Tom Patterson and Lee Caney were on a beach in Westport with a few friends while their children played. Someone dared Patterson to take a dive into the ice-cold water, which he refused. But, after leaving Patterson’s mind started spinning – what if he could pose that chilly challenge to the community and use it to raise money for local organizations?
 
The next year, the Polar Plunge “Freezin’ For A Reason” at Westport’s Compo beach was born. In eight years of taking the plunge, co-founders  Tom and Lee led the charge in raising a collective $750,000 for community organizations. Then, Caney’s wife, Carolyn, was diagnosed with MS and it was decided it was time to support the National MS Society.
 
This New Year’s Day, more than 100 ‘polar bears’ dove into Long Island Sound after raising $104,000 for the National MS Society, Connecticut Chapter. At the Chapter’s annual meeting, leadership decided to honor Patterson and Caney, recognizing their fundraising efforts. Both received a Mission Champion award, newly created to recognize individuals who raise in excess of $100,000 for the MS movement in one year.
 
Funds raised through events such as the TI Polar Bear Plunge ensure ongoing scientific research to find a cure and provide for the continuation of vital programs and services offered by the chapter to Connecticut residents affected by MS.
 
For more information on the National MS Society, Connecticut Chapter, visit ctfightsMS.org or call 860.913.2550.

About the Connecticut-Rhode Island Chapter of the National Multiple Sclerosis (MS) Society

The Connecticut Chapter strives to provide knowledge and assistance to help people with MS and their families maintain the highest possible quality of life. These goals are achieved through vital national and local programs.

About Multiple Sclerosis

Multiple sclerosis is an unpredictable, often disabling disease of the central nervous system that disrupts the flow of information within the brain, and between the brain and body. Symptoms range from numbness and tingling to blindness and paralysis. The progress, severity and specific symptoms of MS in any one person cannot yet be predicted, but advances in research and treatment are leading to better understanding and moving us closer to a world free of MS. Most people with MS are diagnosed between the ages of 20 and 50, with at least two to three times more women than men being diagnosed with the disease. MS affects more than 2.3 million people worldwide.

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