Apr 19, 2009
Hundreds Walk in North Brunswick to Create a World Free of MS
North Brunswick – The New Jersey Metro Chapter of the National Multiple Sclerosis (MS) Society today held its 21st Annual Walk MS, starting and ending at Babbage Park in North Brunswick. About 300 walkers strolled along the beautiful route winding through Babbage Park aiming to raise $100,000 for MS services and programs and to support national MS research. The New Jersey Metro Chapter will run 14 walk sites today, including North Brunswick, with a goal of raising $2 million total.
“This is an extraordinary event for a very important cause. Not only do we walk because of the fantastic route and the great exercise, but to support all those whose lives are touched by MS and to one day find a cure” says New Jersey Metro Chapter President Michael Elkow. “For 21 years Walk MS has been a crucial part of helping the 13,000 New Jersey residents and over 400,000 people nationwide move forward in their lives.”
The first Walk MS events in New Jersey were held in 1989 in only a few towns across the state. With only a few hundred participants the Chapter raised a couple thousand dollars. Today’s Walk MS kicked off at 10 a.m. at 14 different walk sites throughout New Jersey and will host about 10,000 walkers and volunteers. Walk MS is one of New Jersey’s largest and most widespread organized walks with all funds raised from the event going to support critical MS research programs and fund local programs and services for all those who are impacted by the disease. Each year we move one step closer to a cure.
About the National Multiple Sclerosis 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 home office and 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 over $50 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.
Early and ongoing treatment with an FDA-approved therapy can make a difference for people with multiple sclerosis. Learn about your options by talking to your health care professional and contacting the National MS Society at nationalMSsociety.org or 1-800-FIGHT-MS (344-4867). For more information about Walk MS or to make a donation please contact the New Jersey Metro Chapter at (732) 660-1005 or (201) 967-5599 or visit us online at walknjm.nationalmssociety.org.
About Multiple Sclerosis
• 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 advancement, 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.