Mar 16, 2009
March 16-20 is "MS stump week" on UD Newark campus
March 11, 2009—Wilmington, DELAWARE The Delaware Chapter of the National Multiple Sclerosis Society announced today that the week of March 16–20, 2009, has been designated as “MS stump week” on the University of Delaware’s Newark campus.
A week of events is planned to gear up for this year’s main fundraising event in Newark—Walk MS: University of Delaware 2009. Subtitled “Take a Walk on the Wild Side,” the event’s official “Join the Movement Against MS” gorilla will be glimpsed wandering the wilds of the university campus with its handler. And from 10:00 A.M. to 6:00 P.M., an informational kiosk—featuring data on MS and the chapter’s programs as well as on the Walk event—will be set up at the Perkins Student Center on Thursday, March 19. On Friday, March 20, the kiosk will be in the Trabant University Center.
“The reason we’ll be on campus this week,” says the chapter’s director of development, Holly Maddams, M.P.A., “is to get the party started for this year’s event. Anyone who joins us on campus and signs up to participate in the walk will get a free Frisbee and chapstick. And anyone who raises at least $100 will get a free event T-shirt.
“For those of you who are pet lovers,” adds Maddams with a big grin, “we will also have puppy kissing at the Perkins kiosk on Thursday—if the weather permits.”
About Walk MS: University of Delaware 2009
Walk MS: University of Delaware 2009 is scheduled for Sunday, May 3. The accessible 2 ½ mile walk steps off at 10:00 A.M. at the Perkins Student Center and meanders through downtown Newark and the picturesque grandeur of UD’s landscaped showplace, The Green.
As an annual fundraiser, the event supports the programs and services needed by more than 1,500 Delawareans with MS and their families. While the average walker raises $123.75, individuals and groups can also support fundraising by volunteering.
“Our events are the rallying point for the MS movement,” says the chapter’s event coordinator, Jennie Welch, “and we encourage everyone to participate by doing what they can do, whatever that is. Even if they can’t raise money, being there is an important step. They can volunteer, recruit, or participate. All these investments in time and energy will pay off both this year and in years to come.”
For more information, call (302) 655-5610, or visit www.delawarewalk.org.
About multiple sclerosis
Every hour in the United States, someone is newly diagnosed with MS. MS affects more than 400,000 Americans. Most are diagnosed between the ages of 20 and 50—during life’s most productive years—and more than twice as many women are diagnosed as men.
Multiple sclerosis is an unpredictable, often disabling disease of the central nervous system that interrupts the flow of information from the brain to the body. Symptoms range from tingling and numbness in the limbs to blindness and paralysis. In other words, MS stops people from moving.
Although the progress, severity, and specific symptoms of MS cannot be predicted, advances in research and treatment are moving us closer to a world free of MS. Studies show that early and ongoing treatment with an FDA-approved therapy can reduce future disease activity and improve the quality of life for many people with MS.
About the National Multiple Sclerosis Society
The National Multiple Sclerosis Society is a collective of passionate individuals who are
• moving together to create a world free of MS.
• moving research forward by relentlessly pursuing prevention, treatment, and a cure.
• moving to reach out and respond to individuals, families, and communities living with MS.
• moving politicians and legislation to champion the needs of people with MS through activism, advocacy, and influence.
• moving to raise $1.25 billion by 2010 to help create a world free of MS.
• moving to mobilize the millions of people who want to do something about MS now.
To this end, the National MS Society funds more MS research, provides more services to peoplewith MS, offers more professional education, and furthers more advocacy efforts than any other MS organization in the world. Through a 50-state network of chapters—including the Delaware Chapter—the Society addresses the challenges of living with the disease.
To learn about the current research as well as ways to help manage MS, call (302) 655-5610, or visit MSdelaware.org.