Are you still keeping up with your New Year’s Resolutions?  Well, we have an Everyday Hero to inspire you! We present to you the very charismatic, enthusiastically dedicated and driven, Roberta Miles. 

Roberta was diagnosed with MS ten years ago, and like most, her initial response was to feel sorry for herself. She did so for three years after her diagnosis, to be exact. However, her resilient spirit didn’t allow her to stay down for long, and soon, she was getting back to life and participating in her first Walk MS event. Roberta has been fundraising for Walk MS for seven years now and hosts her own DIY event, “A Gathering of Outrageous Souls.”

When asked what inspired her to join the movement and volunteer, Roberta replied: “It was time to see how I could challenge myself. In the past two years I’ve created an event called ‘A Gathering of Outrageous Souls.’ The event is held at Let them Eat Chocolate, a Belgium Chocolate candy shop on the Northside of Chicago. The chocolate shop venue has been our home, and the owner of the shop approached me and offered her space to create an event. She wanted to contribute in some way to the MS cause. Being a performer myself, I put together four hours of non-stop entertainment with a silent auction, a 50/50 ticket sale and the chocolate shop donated 20 percent of all their chocolate sales. It was a great event two years in a row. I never thought I would have the where with all and energy needed to produce something like that.”

As for what Roberta would like to share about volunteering for the National MS Society:

“It's an amazing feeling to know that so many people care about eradicating MS, and that at the end of  Walk MS, I might even get a medal and a dilly bar. That makes it worth it! I know that's silly, but meaningful! We get to be acknowledged, not just as people that have MS, but are there kicking its butt. Creating and fulfilling a DIY event that reflects my life and who I am is hard work, but it feels so amazing when I see it happening, and being acknowledged by the National MS Society is one of the most gratifying things. To think that I make a difference in my life and the life of 2.3 million people is astounding, gratifying and beyond fantastic. It's a privilege to volunteer for something, make a difference and be acknowledged.”

Thanks for being an Everyday Hero, Roberta! Your story is sure to uplift others as you continue to show that life with MS has no limits!