Making a move to help end multiple sclerosis
Laura Lennie, News Staff
Published on
Apr 03, 2009
With about 1,000 new cases of multiple sclerosis being diagnosed each year, there has never been a better time to join the MS Walk movement.
“Every day, three more people in Canada are diagnosed with multiple sclerosis,” said MS Society of Canada, Hamilton Chapter fundraising coordinator Alison Foreman. “According to the national averages, it is estimated that in Hamilton alone, nearly 1,300 people are living with this chronic disease.”
Multiple sclerosis is an unpredictable, often disabling disease of the central nervous system (the brain and spinal cord). MS can occur at any age, but is usually diagnosed between the ages of 15 and 40.
The disease attacks the protective covering of the central nervous system, causing inflammation and often destroying the covering.
Multiple sclerosis symptoms vary from person to person. Symptoms may include double or blurred vision, extreme fatigue, loss of balance, problems with coordination, speech problems, bladder and bowel problems and even partial or complete paralysis.
To help in the quest for a cure, the MS Walk was started in 1991 and has become the MS Society’s largest pledge-based fundraiser with more than 70,000 participants in over 160 communities across Canada taking to the street each spring.
Proceeds of the family-oriented event support the society’s national research program, as well as provide services to local people living with multiple sclerosis and their families.
“Whether you participate as an individual, team or volunteer, you can be sure you’ll come out to experience a day full of excitement and hope that one day we will live in a world without MS and you’ll leave knowing that you are a valuable contributor to making it a reality,” said Ms. Foreman.
Brinks Canada Ltd. certainly believes in making that hope a reality.
For the past nine years, the world leader in secure logistics has been a corporate sponsor of the MS Society and raised funds to help fight multiple sclerosis.
“As a result of this partnership, we have been privileged to be part of an organization that helps benefit the lives of our fellow citizens in the community and help those who are less fortunate,” said Hamilton Branch operations manager Dave Oswald. “Indirectly, this rewarding experience has allowed our employees across the nation to be involved in team building events that allow our friendships to go beyond our normal working environment.”
Having volunteered its services in delivering pledges from various MS events in the community since 2001, Brinks Hamilton is taking its commitment one step further.
The branch has joined forces with Brinks St. Catharines to form the Fifty-Niners, a 20-member team, which will participate in the Hamilton walk on Sunday, April 19.
“Various Brinks branches have organized teams to support this great cause, but this is the first time the Hamilton and St. Catharines branches have joined together to do the walk,” said Mr. Oswald. “We’ve both volunteered our services in other ways, but we thought there’s definitely more that we can do…I think there’s always more that anybody can do.”
And the process to do more couldn’t have been easier, adds Mr. Oswald.
“Once we committed to register our local Brinks team, we were fortunate to benefit from the tremendous support of the Hamilton MS Society office. These dedicated representatives took the time to visit our location and assist our team in setting up our online registration, as well as providing us with workplace promotional material,” he said. “In addition, they helped make the online pledge process extremely simple to access for the families and friends of our team members. We were truly impressed by just how easy it is to get involved on either a corporate or personal level.”
Looking to continue their support of the MS Society throughout 2009 via other activities, the Fifty-Niners are encouraging others to jump on board.
“Despite the present state of economic uncertainty, we hope that local businesses and citizens within our community will continue to support local charities, such as the MS Society. Chances are that everyone has a personal relationship with someone who struggles with a serious illness, disease or disability,” said Mr. Oswald. “For this reason, we feel that there is no greater reward than when we exercise compassion and volunteer our selfless service in the hope of positively impacting the well-being of our families, friends and fellow citizens. We look forward to our first event and wish all our fellow MS teams in Hamilton and across the country success in their effort to raise funds for this great cause.”
The 2009 MS Walk will take place Sunday, April 19 in Hamilton at St. Mary Catholic Secondary School, 200 Whitney Ave. and in Stoney Creek at Saltfleet District High School, 108 Highland Rd. W. Check in is 8:30 a. m.; walk begins at 10 a. m. and will include routes ranging from five to eight kilometres, with a twokilometre wheelchair accessible route. For more information or to register, call 905-527-7874 ext. 14 or visit www.mssociety.ca/hamilton .
Did you know...
Multiple sclerosis is the most common disease of the central nervous system, affecting between 55,000 to 75,000 Canadians. Canadians have one of the highest rates of MS in the world.
MS is the most common neurological disease affecting young adults in Canada.
Women are more than three times as likely to develop MS as men. MS was first identified and described by a French neurologist, Dr. Jean-Martin Charcot, in 1868.