Feb 17, 2009
MS Awareness Week 2009
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: CONTACT:
February 10, 2009 Ashley Easley-Zeringue
504-832-4013
ashley.easley@nmss.org
MOVE IT!
Join the Movement To End MS Now
MS Awareness Week Is March 2-8
New Orleans—MS Awareness Week takes place March 2 – 8, and the Louisiana Chapter of the National Multiple Sclerosis Society is asking everyone to MOVE IT to end MS now. Show your commitment to the MS movement with simple actions throughout the week to spread the word and raise awareness about MS.
This year’s theme is Move it. It’s all about encouraging people to move it to end MS – whether you volunteer, bike, walk, advocate, educate, support – every action is a demonstration of your commitment to the MS movement and helps to motivate the potentially millions of people who want to, and can, do something about MS now.
The Louisiana Chapter is gearing up for a great week of events and activities:
- Monday, March 2nd the Chapter will host an Open House at the MS Society Office at 4613 Fairfield Street in Metairie from 4pm-7pm. Come learn more about the events, programs and services that the Louisiana Chapter offers.
- Wednesday, March 4th there will be an MS Awareness Rally at the Louisiana State Capitol from 11am-1pm. Come out to let yourself be heard by our local legislators who can help with regulations and funding for MS research.
- Wednesday, March 4th is also MS Give Back Night at Chili’s. Dine at any Chili’s restaurant in the state and 10% of sales brought in will be donated back to the Louisiana Chapter. Call the Louisiana Chapter at 504-832-4013 (option 2) to get a flyer.
- Thursday, March 5th you will have the opportunity to “Try on MS” at Lakeside Mall in Metairie from 11am-2pm. Visit the MS Society’s table outside the food court to get a glimpse at some of the obstacles facing those living with MS.
- Friday, March 6th the Bossier-Shreveport Mudbugs Hockey Team is hosting an MS Night. The game starts at 7:05pm. For more information about tickets call the Chapter at 504-832-4013 (option 2)
- Saturday, March 7th the Bayou MS Foundation hosts their annual Health Fair at St. Martin’s Episcopal School in Metairie from 9am-1pm. This year’s Fair will focus on MS and Family Relationships. The agenda included presentations on Relationships, Children’s Roundtable Workshop, Stress Management, and YOGA Fest breathing and stretching techniques. Lunch time included great food, live entertainment and time to visit numerous vendors for information and resources. A live auction will take place as well, adding more excitement to the day's event.
To find out other ways to be a part of MS Awareness Week and to encourage others to move it too, visit mslouisiana.org or nationalMSsociety.org. From the Society’s national site you will find ways to build the MS movement through actions such as posting your own story, downloading web banners, and more.
About Multiple Sclerosis
Multiple sclerosis interrupts the flow of information between the brain and the body and stops people from moving. Every hour in the United States, someone is newly diagnosed with MS, an unpredictable, often disabling disease of the central nervous system. 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 moving us closer to a world free of MS. Most people with MS are diagnosed between the ages of 20 and 50, with more than twice as many women as men being diagnosed with the disease. MS affects more than 400,000 people in the U.S. and 2.5 million worldwide.
About the National MS Society
MS stops people from moving. The National MS Society exists to make sure it doesn’t. We help each person address the challenges of living with MS. In 2007 alone, through our national office and our 50 state network of chapters, we devoted over $136 million to programs that enhanced more than one million lives to move us closer to a world free of MS. The Society also invested more than $46 million to support 440 research projects around the world. We are people who want to do something about MS NOW. Join the movement at nationalMSsociety.org.
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