Walk to Create a World Free of MS

Getting to ready to walk in 2011.

The 24th Annual Walk MS event will be held on Sunday, April 22, 2012 at Capaha Park with registration starting at noon. Neal E. Boyd, the 2008 winner of America's Got Talent will be singing the National Anthem at 1:00 when the walk starts. Walk MS is the signature fundraising event of the National Multiple Sclerosis Society and is the rallying point of the MS movement by bringing together communities, neighbors, families and friends who care about the people living with MS in our community.

Our goal this year is to raise $35,000 to fund multiple sclerosis research and programs and services to help people with MS stay active, connect with others, and move forward in their lives. This year's event is presented by EMD Serono, along with local sponsors SoutheastHEALTH, Kidd's Gas and Convenience Stores, McDonald's Restaurants and O'Charley's. There are numerous other local in-kind sponsors who support this event.

The 2012 Walk MS Chairperson, Catherine Buchanan shares her story about why the MS Walk is important to her. "My mother, Alicia was diagnosed with MS about 15 years ago. I watched her go from an independent, hard working woman, full of life and much ahead to a woman who lost her job because of her disease; who is wheel chair bound; and who on some days cannot get out of bed at all. Not only does the walk provide funding for research to try and rid the world of this debilitating disease but it provides hope. Hope that one day my mother can walk along with my son, Roman. Hope that she can wake with enough energy to get out of bed each day. Hope that she can live her life to the fullest. Raising awareness during Walk MS time is rewarding in so many ways. The direct benefit for those with MS, the lessons my son learns in caring and the rewards of volunteering, and the sensation of pulling through for hundreds of people each year to spend an afternoon together. I wouldn't trade the experience for the world!"

Across the country, more than 250,000 walkers in 700 cities join the MS movement each year to bring us closer to a cure, one step at a time. Walk MS is about compassion for others. It's about passion, drive and commitment to succeed. It's about raising awareness for a disease that strikes individuals in the prime of their life. It's about doing more than you have to in life to make someone else's life that much better.

To register to walk or volunteer, go to www.gatewaymswalk.org or call 1-800-344-4867

We hope to see you there!

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