FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Media Contact:Cindy Stranad[email protected](919) 232-5008
National MS Society Announces the Launch of the Walk MS Gold Club CampaignGold Club Members to Receive Commemorative Apparel, VIP Perks and Recognition
RALEIGH, N.C. (March 27, 2008) — The Eastern North Carolina Chapter of the National Multiple Sclerosis Society announces the launch of the Walk MS 2008 Gold Club campaign. This campaign challenges all Walk participants to raise $500 or more for the Triangle Walk MS event on May 3. The Society’s goal is to recruit more than 1,000 Gold Club members by May 26, the end of the 2008 Walk fundraising season. Participants can sign up for the Gold Club Challenge via the Walk MS Web site, walknct.nationalmssociety.org. “Gold Club is a great way to motivate and encourage participants to actively engage in fundraising for Walk MS,†says Bethany Coggins, special events manager of the Eastern North Carolina Chapter of the National Multiple Sclerosis Society. “These elite participants will receive great perks as the Society shows our appreciation for their efforts.†Every Gold Club member will receive commemorative Gold Club apparel, VIP perks at the event including free food and refreshments, as well as recognition throughout the Walk MS event season. In addition, participants that raise more than $500 will be rewarded as listed below:
- Elite: Raise $1,500 or more and receive a messenger tote and certificate of appreciation.
- Mission Possible: Individuals raising $4,300 or more will receive a plaque of appreciation.
- Tour of Champions: Raise $7,500 or more and win a three-day trip including airline tickets, hotel stay, and some meals. Raise $10,000 or more and bring a guest for free.
In addition to the one, three and five mile walk routes, the 2008 Walk MS event will feature the Bike MS Kick-Off Ride and the MS 8K Run for Research. Other activities throughout the day include Imagine’s Ramp Building Festival, live entertainment by The Embers and Big Daddy Rhythm and the Heavyweights, as well as many kids’ activities. For more information, registration and event sponsorship, visit walknct.nationalmssociety.org or call 1-800 FIGHT MS.About Multiple Sclerosis: Multiple sclerosis 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 U.S. and 2.5 million worldwide.
About the National Multiple Sclerosis Society:
MS stops people from moving. The National MS Society exists to make sure it doesn’t. We help each person address the challenges of living with MS. Each year, through our home office and 50-state network of chapters, we devote approximately $125 million to programs and services that enhance more than one million lives to move us closer to a world free of MS. In 2007, the Society invested more than $46 million to support 440 research projects around the world. We are people who want to do something about MS NOW. If you or someone you know has MS, please contact the National MS Society today at www.nationalmssociety.org or 1-800 FIGHT MS to learn about ways to help manage multiple sclerosis and about current research that may one day reveal a cure.
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