Momentum - Spring 2013

then And noW:

WALK Ms twenty-five years ago, disease-modifying treatments for multiple sclerosis did not exist, MrI scans had just been recognized as a way to monitor disease activity and the very first Walk Ms event took place in Minnesota.

that day in 1988, people who wanted to join the movement walked from downtown Minneapolis to the state capitol in st. Paul. they raised $216,000 toward research and service programs for people with Ms. And they began something that grew exponentially through the new millennium and beyond. today, Walk Ms events raise $50 million a year to help people with Ms move forward with their lives and end Ms forever, with more than 330,000 people participating in events held in every single state.

CoUrtesy of the MInnesotA ChAPter

Keep the movement growing. Visit walkMS.org today.

“Some people just overhear us discussing our preparations and want to pitch in,” says Marilena. “We may be diverse, but we all have something in common that I never expected—besides wanting to end MS!” she says, laughing. “We’re all super-competitive and we each want to come in with the most money. This year we raised $12,000 and next year we want to raise even more.”

‘The disease strikes all’

As many Walk MS team captains know, creating a successful team often means finding a way to keep it growing and crossing social boundaries to do so. As with any challenge, there can be bumps in the road.

Just ask Beverly Johnson. Diagnosed in 1993, the Chicago native only started taking her MS seriously after an exacerbation nearly 10 years later, and formed a Walk MS team, Bev’s Crew. She started by recruiting her friends, and then continued to build her team by speaking at health fairs, churches and senior centers.

Part of her job as team captain was to hang up fliers to promote Walk MS. “Last year, I went to get the posters specifically to put up at a senior center. But when I took a look at them, something was wrong. There was not one senior or person of color represented.”

So Beverly, who is African-American, made her own posters featuring herself and her husband Johnny. Then she wrote to the president of her chapter.

“It was really hard to do that,” she says. “But I told him my concerns—that the posters didn’t represent my own experience. And he listened. This year, the posters will look different.” Bev’s Crew is now one of the top teams in the Chicago area, and, to support the Society’s initiative to raise awareness of the disease in the African-American community, Beverly mentors newly diagnosed African-Americans.

“A lot of people—even doctors—think that ‘certain’ people don’t get MS,” Beverly says. “The first doctor I was seeing said I was too old to have it. Then she told me that black people rarely get it. Well, I have it and so do four older ladies of color in my church. Now I feel it is my job to go into the black population and tell them that the disease strikes all.” To learn more about how to start—and build— your team, visit walkMS.org. n