Apr 15, 2009
ASPIRE-sponsored Walk MS means more for MS
Carla Koss
When Walk MS: University of Delaware 2009 steps off this year, it is with the generous help of ASPIRE, the university’s student organization that works to recruit and retain minorities as education majors. Led by student representative Taria Pritchett, ASPIRE assumes a wide range of sponsorship responsibilities for the annual Newark-area fundraiser. As a result, more of the money raised for MS goes to MS.
“ASPIRE supports Walk MS in a number of ways,” says Jennie Welch, the event coordinator at the Delaware Chapter of the National Multiple Sclerosis Society, “and all of them enable us to put more of the money we raise into MS research and the programs and services needed by more than 1,500 Delawareans with MS and their families. Needless to say, we are very grateful for the help that ASPIRE gives us.”
Walk MS: University of Delaware begins at 10:00 A.M. on Sunday, May 3. The easily accessible 2 1/2-mile route steps off at UD’s Perkins Student Center, winds through downtown Newark, and finishes with a stroll through the university’s architecturally renowned walkway, The Green.
For more info, call (302) 655-5610, or visit www.MSdelaware.org.
About ASPIRE
ASPIRE—which stands for “academic support program inspiring renaissance educators”—was established in 1991 to respond to a recognized need at the state and national levels to recruit more teachers from under-represented groups. Today, ASPIRE continues this support by providing opportunities for academic and professional development to students in five University of Delaware colleges. So, in addition to traditional elementary education majors, ASPIRE welcomes students pursuing teaching degrees in marine studies, agriculture, health sciences, human development, and leadership.
Because the ASPIRE network of students and alumni is dedicated to the development of effective teachers and leaders, ASPIRE also welcomes UD students who share a passion for working with middle school and high school children. Through the Aspiring Teacher Initiative, ASPIRE supports a network of pre-college peer tutors. The goal is to ensure that more Delaware high school graduates are prepared for admission to UD.
About multiple sclerosis
Every hour in the United States, someone is newly diagnosed with MS. 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. MS affects more than 400,000 Americans; in The First State, more than 1,500 Delawareans have been diagnosed.
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 people with 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 more, call (302) 655-5610, or visit www.MSdelaware.org.