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The goal of Kids Get MS Too is to provide an opportunity for children and adolescents with MS, and their families, to meet others in similar situations, and to talk with the team of health professionals from the Partners Pediatric MS Center about the care of children and teens with MS.

• Providence Bruins
• Family Camp
• Fenway Park

Kids Get MS Too - Providence Bruins vs. Worcester Sharks!

Date: Sunday, February 20, 2011
Time: 1:00-7:00 pm
Location: Dunkin Donut Center Providence, Providence, RI

Join us to hang out with other kids and teens with MS as the Providence Bruins take on the Worcester Sharks! Meet other families, have lunch, make friends and watch a spectacular hockey game! We hope you can join us!

Registration
This program is FREE, but you must register by February 11, 2011. As always, siblings and/or a friend are welcomed to join in the fun!
Registration includes lunch, game tickets and parking voucher.
Limit 4 tickets per family.

If you would like to attend this event, please contact Sarah MacIsaac at sarah.macisaac@nmss.org or 1-800-344-4867, option 2, ext 153. We hope that you join us for a fun experience!

Financial assistance is available to families in need, and can include transportation and overnight accommodations for those traveling long distances. For more information, please contact Sarah MacIsaac at the Greater New England Chapter.

This program is handicapped accessible.
Eligibility: Open to kids and teens with MS, ages 6-18, living in New England. Not appropriate for children of people with MS.

Kids Get MS Too Family Camp 2011

August 19-21, 2011
Camp Yavneh, Nottingham, NH

Kids Get MS Too Family Camp 2010

This three-day retreat for children and teens with MS, and their families, took place at Camp Yavneh in Northwood, N.H., August 20-22, 2010. The retreat, planned by the Kids Get MS Too Council, was attended by 5 families as well as volunteers, staff & presenters.

After settling into our hotel-like accommodations and finishing off the home-cooked dinner, Lori Babbitt (mother and council member) started the weekend with introductions and welcoming everyone to the 1st Annual Kids Get MS Too Family Camp Retreat. David Rintell, PhD, Family Counselor at Partners Pediatric MS Center at the Massachusetts General Hospital for Children, led the campers in a lively discussion about families and what they mean to us. This was followed by highly creative activity in which families fashioned their own ‘Family Shield’ or ‘Crest’ to express the individualistic and shared characteristics of their family. After dark we followed the trail out to the campfire and spent a couple hours roasting marshmallows and making up campfire songs……no American Idols this year!

On Saturday, everyone traveled down the road to Durham, N.H. to the Browne Center for Innovative Learning, where families were captivated with the team building games and ventured onto the high ropes course to challenge each other to “climb higher!” or “JUMP!”. This was undoubtedly the highlight of the trip as kids and parents climbed ladders, walked the tightropes, took the Leap of Faith and mastered the Giant Ladder in two person teams. In the afternoon, while parents relaxed and talked by the lake, kids spent a few hours cooling off and trying their luck on the water trampoline. Amazingly still full of energy after dinner, we all played a short round of the ‘Toilet Paper’ game led by council member Bob Eagan and learned a few things about each other, while laughing until our stomachs hurt! Christine Dorman, a volunteer young adult with MS and recreation professional, led the group in creating their Family Banners for a competitive game of ‘Fun Family Olympics’ followed by a marathon game of ‘Apples to Apples’– the new favorite game for all.

On Sunday, still raring to go, parents attended a presentation on ‘Special Needs Trusts’ with attorney Christine Windler, while the kids tie-dyed t-shirts to take home. Before lunch, the group gathered together for one more craft activity and made friendship bracelets and other braided and beaded “jewelry.” Our final meal was a BBQ that was followed by a moving closing ceremony when parents and families shared what the experience meant for them. After sharing emails, hugs and goodbyes families started on their journeys home with thoughts of returning to Camp next year!

Kids Get MS Too — A Day at Fenway Park

Saturday July  23, 2011
This program is free, but pre-registration is required by July 15. Three tickets per family.

Join us for this sport fan’s dream as we go to Fenway Park!  Enjoy time with other families living with Pediatric MS, and cheer for the Red Sox as they take on the Seattle Mariners. Registration includes pregame activities, meal and tickets to the game.

To attend this event or for more information regarding financial assistance to help your family to attend, please contact Sarah MacIsaac at Sarah.MacIsaac@nmss.org or call 1-800-344 4867, option 1.

• This program is handicapped-accessible.
• Eligibility: For kids and teens with MS, ages 8-18 and their family members. Three tickets per family.

2010 Kids Get MS Too Day at Fenway Park

From left:
Sarah MacIsaac, Program Manager;
Linda Guiod, Executive VP for Chapter Programs & Services;
Dr. David Rintell, Family Counselor at Partners Pediatric MS Center at the Massachusetts General Hospital for Children;
Dr. Tanuja Chitnis, Director and Neurologist at Partners Pediatric MS Center at the Massachusetts General Hospital for Children;
Paul Van Houten, Chapter Board Member & his son, Jack;
Two teens with MS, Matt & Victoria;
and Wally the Green Monster.

More 2010 photos

The National Multiple Sclerosis Society has selected the Partners Pediatric MS Center at MassGeneral Hospital for Children as one of six Pediatric MS Centers of Excellence in the country. The goals of the centers are:

• To provide optimal medical and psychosocial care and support to children and their families;
• To educate the medical community about pediatric MS;
• To develop a nationwide shared network of knowledge, and build a framework for research into this patient population.

For more information about the Partners Pediatric MS Center, please visit their website: http://www.partnerspediatricmscenter.org/, or call 1-617-726-6093.

If you have any questions about Kids Get MS Too, contact Amber Stalker, 1-800-344-4867, option 2, x127.

Participating National MS Society Chapters:
Greater New England (Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, and Vermont), Connecticut, and Rhode Island