How Apropos – MS Fundraising Week & How You Can Help

How appropriate — nay, apropos (ap·ro·pos/ˌaprəˈpō/) — that this is National Fundraising Week at the National Multiple Sclerosis Society.  And, in that spirit, I’m asking for your help.

As I noted in an earlier post, I’m walking in the MS Walk in Reston, Virginia, on April 15th.  I’m part of the team named “For Uncle Brian,” and am helping them to raise funds to support MS research and programs for people who have MS and their families.

If you can spare a few dollars (yes, every little bit does help), I hope you can make a small donation to our team.  Your donation is secure and tax-deductible.  Just go to this page to donate.

I and those of us with multiple sclerosis greatly appreciate your generosity.

Thank you.

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T Minus 30 Days (’til the MS Walk)

I’m walking. Again. I’m walking because I can.

The local annual MS Walk this year will be held on Sunday, April 15, 2012, at the Reston Town Center in Reston, VA.

This year I have joined the “For Uncle Brian” team of walkers.   The Brian of “Uncle Brian” is a member of our local MS Support Group.

If you’re so inclined, you can make a secure online donation to the “For Uncle Brian” team that I’ll be walking with.  All money donated will go to the National Multiple Sclerosis Society.

WHEN YOU GIVE, YOU’RE SUPPORTING PROGRAMS, SERVICES & CUTTING EDGE RESEARCH. WHAT YOU GIVE WILL CHANGE MILLIONS OF LIVES.

To see pictures of last year’s walk in Reston, click here.

Thank you in advance for your kind generosity.

The 2011 MS Walk in Reston, VA Is History

Me at the Finish line

MSWalk/Reston (Virginia) was on Sunday, April 10, 2011.  The morning was cool; but it didn’t deter the some-1,000 registered walkers.

My husband Matt and I arrived about 1 hour after start time (there were staggered starts), hoping that the weather would warm up a bit.  No such luck.  It stayed in the low 50’s (F) the whole time.

The Pavilion was crowded with people.  The “Teams” were assembling and getting rousing send-offs by volunteers.  (Those volunteers also cheered and “high-fived” everyone as they crossed the Finish line.)

We set off from the Reston Town Center Pavilion at about 9:30 a.m. Most of the walk was on the walking/bike  paths in Reston.  It was a side of Reston I never see from the busy streets and shopping areas.

It took us a little over an hour to complete the walk; but the stats I have are a bit skewed because I didn’t pause my phone application when we stopped for water half-way through.  So it might be closer to just under an hour.

After completing the walk we partook in the free brats & chips provided by Clydes.  Mmmmm. (Yeah, they also had hamburgers &  hotdogs; but when there’s brats around the Choice Is Clear.)

I’ve posted some pictures and a post-walk video to Flickr.  Have a look.

I’d really like to thank those of my family and friends who made a pledge on my behalf to the National Multiple Sclerosis Society.  You generous donations go to moving us closer to a world without MS.

I’d also like to thank my husband Matt for walking with me.  There were a ton of people at the Starting line, but I didn’t know any of them.  So I was glad to have Matt to keep me company (and on pace).

I think I’ll do it again next year.  Care to form a team?

Day 5, MS Awareness Week: Walking the Walk

The following is a reprint of an item on my Walk MS Personal Page [link no longer available].  I’m reprinting it here as the final installment of my series of blog posts to mark MS Awareness Week.

“Walking the Walk”

That phrase is taking on new meaning for me this year. This is the first time I will be walking for Walk MS 2011 in Reston. I’d volunteered before, but I wanted to actually walk.
You see, I have MS; and because of the unpredictable nature of the disease, I’ve tried to live by the motto “Do it while you can!” Because there may be a time when I can’t. That is the nature of this unpredictable disease.
So, that’s why I’m walking this year. I hope you can join me or support me by making a donation [secure link]. [last year’s link;  no longer available]

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If you missed the previous 4 posts this week, here are links to them:

• Day 1, Help Me Mark MS Awareness Week
• Day 2, MS Awareness Week: Info About MS
• Day 3, MS Awareness Week: Blogs and More
• Day 4, MS Awareness Week: Ways To Help

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Help Me Mark MS Awareness Week

As I noted in a previous post, I’ll be marking MS Awareness Week all this week.  It runs March 14-20, 2011.  What you can expect this week:

• I’ll give you some information about multiple sclerosis, the people who have the disease, and groups that are working to improve the lives of those with MS.  I’ll also provide you with ways to get more information about MS.
• I’ll introduce you to some of my favorite blogs by people with MS (PWMS?).  Some of the stories bring into stark relief the trials that PWMS must endure because of the disease and sometimes because of the medical and pharmaceutical communities.  Have a read to peek inside the life of someone with MS.
• I’ll provide you with ways you can help make this A World Free of MS.  There are MS Walks (both long and short), MS bike rides, and MS golf tournaments.  There are also generic ways to donate directly to MS-related groups.
• Also (and don’t say I didn’t warn you), I’ll be asking for your support to help me meet my fund-raising goal for the MS Walk in Reston, VA.

I’m changing my Twitter avatar and Facebook profile picture this week to raise awareness of “all things MS.”

I hope you find my posts this week interesting, informative, and thought provoking. Thank you for reading.

Putting Some Oxygen Back in the Debate

Well, next month it happens:  The MS Walk in Reston, VA on April 10, 2011.  I noted before why I signed up for the walk this year. It’s personal this time. All 3.7 miles of it.

Since I registered, I haven’t heard much about the MS Walk (or “Walk MS,” as the National Multiple Sclerosis Society terms it) on local radio and TV outlets.  What I do hear, however, are ads — ad nauseum, it seems — for the Susan G. Komen 3-day walk.  It seems like that cause is sucking all of the oxygen out of the fund-raising arena.

It’s not that I have anything against the breast cancer cause or the pink-clad marchers. It’s just that they are everywhere: everywhere you turn, every station you listen to, every billboard, everything!  It’s a very well funded organization, and it does a great deal of good.  The case can be made that more women (and men) will be touched by breast cancer than multiple sclerosis [MS]; but that doesn’t mean we — or at least I —  shouldn’t pay attention to the latter disease.

Sure, there have been treatments for the symptoms of MS (spacticity, fatigue) for quite some time.  And in 1994 I was fortunate to begin taking a disease-modifying drug that has likely altered the progression of this disease for me. So far. But there is still no cure.

So I’m walking. Not with a pink ribbon, but with the hope that I don’t trip and fall on the course.  And with the hope that soon we may find a cure.

I told myself that I wouldn’t spam my Twitter Followers and Facebook Friends with pleas to sponsor my walk with a financial contribution so that I can make my fundraising goal.

Yes, I am short of my goal.  And this is a call for help. But I promise you, I will not send many of these pleas.  At least not until much, much later and only if I am way, way below my goal. (Oh yes; and maybe during MS Awareness Week. 😉 )

So, you see, you can keep my “dunning notices” to a minimum by contributing now.  And the way to do that is to visit my MS Walk Page & clicking “Contribute to Michele” — it’s tax deductible! — at the top of the thermometer.

Help make this a world free of MS.

(You can also register to walk and join me at Reston Town Center.)