All Pawtucket All The Time

On April 19, hundreds of people will walk, run, and bike to support thousands of people in our community with multiple sclerosis. People you know, like:

Ernie Reid of Cumberland, who was one of the first 20 people to register for the 2009 MS Walk. The first time he participated was in 2001, one year after being diagnosed with MS. He contacted the National MS Society’s R.I. Chapter and started attending a support group. Three years later he wound up being the leader for a support group in Cumberland. He is using a brand new device that you insert in your shoe and wrap around your leg to improve his walking.

Marie Perna, a grandmother from Cranston, embodies the Society’s mantra to move others by sharing her best ideas. She formed the Dare to Dream team for the MS Walk, raising approximately $100,000 over the years. Recently she founded the Dare to Dream support group that has quickly grown to include 30 committed members. In 2002, Perna created Accessible Rhode Island as a resource for the more than 155,000 Rhode Islanders who find it difficult to navigate restaurants, libraries, cultural and recreational centers, public beaches and parks, and museums – web site at www.accessiblerhodeisland.org.

With walks in Providence, Narragansett, and Bristol and new walk, run, and bike options, it has never been easier to help make a difference in the lives of those with multiple sclerosis.

New Options include:

A 5-K run in Bristol, in addition to the traditional 6.2-mile route. Start from Mount Hope High School and travel through historic Bristol and take in the stunning water views through Colt State Park.

A three-mile walk through downtown Providence starting at the Rhode Island Convention Center.

A three-mile walk along Narragansett’s sea wall, starting from Narragansett Pier School. This is in addition to the always popular 6.2-mile option.

For those of you who prefer two wheels, the MS 25 Quick Ride is a great, 25-mile bicycle ride starting and ending at the Pier School in Narragansett. This ride along the coastline has medical support, support and gear vehicles, rest stops, and more.

Simply log onto rir.nationalmssociety.org and click on the Walk MS logo to register or donate.

By joining us on April 19, 2009, you will be one of more than 250,000 walkers in 700 cities and towns nationwide helping to make a difference in the lives of those with MS. The National MS Society funds more MS research, provides more services to people with MS, offers more professional education, and furthers more advocacy efforts than any other MS organization in the world.

About Multiple Sclerosis
MS interrupts the flow of information from the brain to the body and stops people from moving. Every hour in the United States, someone is newly diagnosed with MS, an unpredictable, often disabling disease of the central nervous system. Symptoms range from numbness and tingling to blindness and paralysis. The progress, severity and specific symptoms of MS in any one person cannot yet be predicted, but advances in research and treatment are moving us closer to a world free of MS. Most people with MS are diagnosed between the ages of 20 and 50, with more than twice as many women as men being diagnosed with the disease. MS affects more than 400,000 people in the United States and 2.5 million worldwide.

Join the movement at www.nationalmssociety.org.