A Wall of Hope to End MS

There are many things that make an MS Walk memorable. One annual tradition I’d like to mention, in particular, touches me deeply, no matter how many times I experience it...

It’s the Wall of Hope.

As part of the registration package, each Walker is given a blank form and encouraged to write why they are walking in the MS Walk. Their responses are posted on the Wall of Hope. Every year, whether I’m walking or helping out behind the scenes, I spend time reading the confessions of hope and affection inscribed on those little slips of paper.

One year I was reading the Wall when I my gaze faltered over one of hundreds of declarations. “I’m walking for my Aunty Barb,” the note confessed. It was signed in a young girl’s hand, “Missy.”

My best friend, Lori and her family were walking that morning. Her children always referred to me as their Aunty Barb, although I hadn’t earned the title through blood.

I swallowed the lump growing in my throat. Lori's pre-teen daughter, Missy had tucked her hope for a cure for me in amongst the sea of others’ heartfelt wishes.

This Walk had, quite suddenly, become personal. Missy was walking for her Aunty Barb. Although still quite young, Missy understood the gravity and importance of her walk that Sunday morning.

To Missy, who is in the wild whirlwind that comes from preparing for her June wedding: I love you so much. I hope you know your walk for MS so many years ago has helped bring us to this point in MS history – where we are on the brink of a cure.

Missy, we WILL end MS.

Text For a Chance to Win an iPod touch!

Grab your cellphone to help end MS!

Text MSBLOG to 101010 for a chance to win an iPod touch.

If you haven’t yet registered for the MS Walk, now is the time!

Be a walker. Be an end to MS.

* Standard text message fees may apply. Full contest details at www.mswalks.ca.

Say hello to the 2009 MS Walk Team, Ontario Division!

Back row: Tetyana (Customer service), Sarah (Markham-Stouffville, Uxbridge, Kingston, Napanee), Janelle (Burlington, Milton, Oakville), Jessica (Niagara Falls, Welland, St. Catharines-Thorold), Melissa (Brampton, Bolton, Muskoka, Belleville), Alysia (TeamMS), Mark (Barrie, Collingwood, Midland, Sudbury)

Middle row: Brian (Toronto, Etobicoke), Nicole (Oshawa, Whitby, Ajax-Pickering), Joanna (Peterborough, Cobourg-Port Hope, Woodbridge), Pam (Mississauga-Lakeshore, Mississauga-Streetsville, Sault Ste. Marie), Caley (Newmarket), Ashleigh (Richmond Hill), Ellie (Sr. Manager)

Front row: Will (Bowmanville, Orangeville, Kawartha Lakes, North Bay), Laura (Manager), Kyle (Scarborough, Orillia, New Tecumseth, Brockville)

Join the movement. End MS. Register today at:
www.mswalks.ca

Countdown: One Month To Go!

The MS Walk is happening one month from today! Now’s the time to …

- Register for your local MS Walk
- Step up your fundraising to earn great prizes
- Recruit your friends to join you for a great day out on April 19th

Use this video to invite others to join you at the MS Walk!

Share it on Facebook, Twitter, or just send it by email!

Let us know how you’re preparing for the MS Walk. And make your step the one that ends MS!

Women Against MS (WAMS) joins movement to end MS

Women Against MS, also known as “WAMS”, was formed in Canada in April 2005, with the induction of Oscar nominated actress Teri Garr as honourary member. WAMS is a powerful collective of professional women dedicated to raising research funds to end MS, while offering exclusive networking opportunities in the Greater Toronto Area. Networking receptions vary from panel discussions to exclusive Anne Klein New York shopping nights. Some elements are quite consistent – great conversation, cocktails and hors d’oeuvres are prevalent!

Team WAMS is an opportunity for WAMS members and supporters to come together in the fight to end MS. You do not need to be a WAMS member to join the Team. We have our own tent at the Toronto MS Walk, complete with fun perks such as Starbucks coffee!

Why walk with Team WAMS?

We Are Monumentally Successful
We Are Mercilessly Smart
We Are Mercifully Skeptical
We Are Mindfully Sacrificial
We Are Meticulously Shrewd
We Are Morally Supportive
We Are Marvelously Self-Sufficient
We Are Magically Sentimental
We Are Momentarily Satisfied
We Are Memorably Sincere
We Are Meritoriously Skilled
We Are Magnificently Sociable
We Are Miraculously Similar
We Are Majestically Self-Confident
We Are Mighty Sensational

Click here to join Team WAMS at the MS Walk. For more information on WAMS, visit www.womenagainstms.com

Be a walker. Be an end to MS!

The Good Guys Always Win

In my previous blogs I wrote about how precious MS Walk memories are to me.

I remember 1996 in particular. It was my second MS Walk. Up and out of the house early Sunday morning with my three girls, we headed out. The air was frosty, the weather clear. The walk was spectacular, just as it had been in 1993.

But there was a single, significant difference. As we walked, our minds and hearts were with our neighbours to the south. Oklahoma had suffered a terrific tragedy two days before. On Friday, April 19th, an office complex in downtown Oklahoma City had been bombed.

The blasted-out building was still a smouldering mess that Sunday morning. Rescuers were still searching for survivors, hoping against hope that someone would be pulled out alive.

We walked in the morning, then came home and sat glued to CNN as the afternoon unfolded in Oklahoma City.

The attack claimed 168 lives, including 19 children, and left over 800 people injured. Until the September 11, 2001 attacks involving four commercial aircraft, it was the deadliest act of terrorism on U.S. soil.

I think I’ll remember always my little girls sitting on the couch watching the TV with remnants of the MS walk reflected in their smudged face paint and MS T-shirts, quietly trying to understand the paradoxes of life.

Since 1996, there have been many other tragedies – locally, nationally, and internationally. The events of 9/11 will be remembered and passed down through future generations. Our children’s children will talk about the events that have shaped our society and global community.

Looking back on that MS Walk, I’m reminded that for every madman who seeks to destroy, there are thousands more good men, women and children, stepping out to help ease one another’s sufferings – including rising on a cold, dark April morning to raise money to end MS.

They say good always wins in the end.

I’m looking forward to the end of MS.

Let’s walk!

The 2009 MS Walk PSA

Hi there Walkers,
There are a few changes in the MS Walk feel and look this year. Formerly known as Super Cities WALK for MS (besides the new name), the MS Society's largest fundraiser has a brand new logo (image) and message! Have you seen our new PSA (video) yet? It's pretty neat! Click on the video and have a look! Don't forget to share it on your Facebook profile and also send it to friends - they will be glad to see your involvement with the movement to end MS.



Do you like the new PSA? Let us know! Click on "comments" (below) and share your thoughts!

Don't Under Estimate the Power of You

One thing I know is you are more powerful than you think. I know this because with all the challanges MS gives us we still get up every morning, get dressed & continue with our lives. Don't be afraid to succeed in life & with raising funds for the MS Walk.

Below is a passage that I read often when I feel beaten down by life & my own insecurities. Let me know what you think.

"Our greatest fear is not that we are inadequate,but that we are powerful beyond measure.
It is our light, not our darkness, that frightens us. We ask ourselves, Who am I to be brilliant,gorgeous, handsome, talented and fabulous?
Actually, who are you not to be? You are a child of God.
Your playing small does not serve the world. There is nothing enlightened about shrinking so that other people won't feel insecure around you.
We were born to make manifest the glory of God within us. It is not just in some; it is in everyone.
And, as we let our own light shine, we consciously give other people permission to do the same. As we are liberated from our fear,our presence automatically liberates others."

Source: Our Greatest Fear
Marianne Williamson from her book "A Return to Love"