| This fall Ann Eggers
will lead a fun, energizing walk to benefit the National Multiple
Sclerosis Society. Eggers has been named chair of the 2001 MS Walk
schedule for Sept. 8 in Poplar Bluff.
Registration starts at 10 a.m. and the MS Walk is
scheduled to begin at 11 a.m. in Hendrickson Park. For more
information, contact the National MS Society at 1-800-FIGHT-MS, or log
on to www.poplarbluffmswalk.org.
"I'm so excited to be leading the volunteers for
this year's MS Walk in Poplar Bluff," said Eggers. "I
hope to make this year's walk an even bigger success than last
year."
In 2000, over 2,700 walkers raised over $350,000
during the MS Walk for the National Multiple Sclerosis Society Gateway
Area Chapter.
"The 2001 MS Walk is especially important because
it has three purposes: to raise funds, to ensure that more people
with MS are told about new treatments for multiple sclerosis and to give
participants the opportunity to sign petitions advocating for more
federal funding of MS research," said Dorothy Hutchinson- Gross,
director of community relations for the National MS Society.
The Gateway Area Chapter's goal for this year is to
raise a combined total of $500,000 this year during 14 community
walks.
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Ann Eggers...MS walk chairman
Approximately 50% of the money raised is earmarked for
research. The remaining funds raised support services provided by
the Gateway Area Chapter to more than 4,200 people with MS throughout
its 90-county service area. The Gateway Area Chapter serves 60
counties in eastern and central Missouri and 30 counties in southern
Illinois.
The MS Walk is a personal project to Eggers.
"Knowing people diagnosed with MS has given me a
purpose: to do what I can do to fight this disease and help find a
cure," Eggers explained.
"Ann Eggers and area volunteers are working hard
to make this year's walk a record |
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breaking success," said
Hutchinson- Gross. "Everyone is invited
to be a part of this success, by calling in to contribute, to volunteer
or to walk."
The MS Walk is a nationally
recognized fund-raising campaign being hosted at more than 700 sites
across the country. The Gateway Area Chapter is coordinating walks
in 14 communities throughout Missouri and Illinois.
Multiple Sclerosis is a chronic disease of the central
nervous system. It is a devastating disease because it usually
strikes young adults between the ages of 20 and 40, and slowly steals
physical functioning in unpredictable ways. Symptoms may range
from fatigue numbness to blindness and paralysis.
The Gateway Area Chapter offers services such
as: self-help groups, a Help line or referral services, need-
based financial assistance, educational programming, and
more.
To learn more about the MS Walk, or for copies of the
full statement recommending the use of the new drugs and information
about federal research funding, contact the Gateway Area Chapter at
314-781-9020, or call 1-800-FIGHT-MS. Information is also
available by e-mail at info@nmss.org
or on their web site at www.mos.nms.org. |
