Tag: Walk MS

Walk MS raises $90K in Snohomish County

From left, Team 4 Dave members Dennis, Chris and Sarah Coerber round the corner of the final stretch of the Walk MS in Tulalip on April 12.— image credit: Kirk Boxleitner
From left, Team 4 Dave members Dennis, Chris and Sarah Coerber round the corner of the final stretch of the Walk MS in Tulalip on April 12.
— image credit: Kirk Boxleitner

 

by KIRK BOXLEITNER,  Marysville Globe

TULALIP — Nearly 600 walkers started and ended their course at the Tulalip Amphitheatre for this year’s Walk MS in Tulalip on Saturday, April 12, and while this represented a slightly smaller turnout than last year’s local event, event organizers still considered it a healthy show of support given the other worthy causes close to home that are calling for people’s time and commitment.

“We understand the community is splitting its attention, with the recent tragedy in Oso,” said Sarah Chromy, communications manager for the National Multiple Sclerosis Society’s Greater Northwest Chapter. “It’s still an impressive number for Snohomish County.”

As of Tuesday, April 15, Chromy estimated that the Walk MS in Tulalip had generated nearly $90,000 for the National MS Society in Snohomish County, out of the $1.6 million in funds raised through this year’s Walk MS events throughout the Greater Northwest Chapter. These numbers are actually up from last year’s.

“The Lumpy Bruisers, with team captain Mitzi Ahles, did an amazing job of recruiting and fundraising this year,” Chromy said. “The Snohomish Goat Farmers, with team captain Ray Emery, led the way as our highest local fundraising team, with more than $16,000. Plus, they always bring out at least two goats to Walk MS, which is a sure crowd-pleaser for the children.”

The Mel Walkers team, with joint captains Bruce and Melissa Groenewegen, ranked second in fundraising, with more than $15,000, while Elaine’s Power Walkers, with team captain Jeff Ponton, came in third with more than $4,000.

“Elaine’s Power Walkers also brought tons of team spirit and balloons,” Chromy said. “The face painter was a big hit as well, painting everything from birds to tigers, and everything in between.”

Chromy explained that more than 77 cents of every dollar raised through Walk MS goes directly to improve the lives of people living with MS. Through its donors and fundraisers, the National MS Society is able to:

  • Fund cutting-edge research to stop MS, restore lost functions and end MS forever.
  • Drive change through advocacy.
  • Facilitate professional education.
  • Collaborate with MS organizations around the world.
  • Provide programs and services that help people with MS and their families move forward with their lives.

“Last year, it was pouring rain out here, so everyone was happy to hang around after this year’s Walk MS to catch up with one another, have some lunch and soak up some sunshine,” Chromy said. “Walk MS connects those in our local communities to one another, as we rally together to raise funds and celebrate hope for a future free of multiple sclerosis. It’s an opportunity for everyone affected by MS to meet others who may be going through similar life experiences, and to take action to end MS forever. There’s an incredible network of support, information and resources available, and Walk MS is the rallying point that makes it all possible.”

For more information, log onto www.nationalmssociety.org/Chapters/WAS.

Walk MS raises awareness, funds

By Lauren Salcedo, The Marysville Globe

Lauren SalcedoSamantha Love, left, and Linda Goldberg smile as they prepare to complete the Snohomish County Walk MS at the Tulalip Amphitheatre on Saturday, April 13.
Lauren Salcedo
Samantha Love, left, and Linda Goldberg smile as they prepare to complete the Snohomish County Walk MS at the Tulalip Amphitheatre on Saturday, April 13.

TULALIP — As rain, wind and chilly temperatures plagued Western Washington on Saturday, April 13, hundreds of participants from around Snohomish County withstood the weather to complete the Walk MS in support of those with multiple sclerosis — a disease which, like rain, is more prevalent in the Pacific Northwest.

Marysville’s Samantha Love and her team co-captain Linda Goldberg represent the varying degrees of the disease.

“This is all about awareness. We show both sides of the spectrum. I’m an advanced MS person and Samantha is in the early stages. Hopefully, we can find something that can stop it cold,” said Goldberg. “I think the awareness is important. Because we are both so fabulous on a regular basis, nobody really understands what it really means and all of the different levels of MS. We did all our fundraising through small donations. We’ve had over 200 individual donations to our team, which means that there are now 200 more people who understand and have shared with everybody else the story of MS. We are not invisible as we used to be.”

Goldberg has known Love since she was a child and their diagnoses brought them closer together.

“My daughter was friends with Samantha’s sister Lauren, and Samantha was her little sister. We knew her as a little child running around being crazy, and then she grew up and was diagnosed with MS at age 20, and I had been diagnosed probably about the same time,” said Goldberg.  “Everybody started emailing me and saying  that Samantha was just diagnosed, so we started emailing and Facebooking each other and supporting each other. This year we came together because she was having struggles with her MS, as was I, and she said, ‘You’re joining the team, aren’t you?’ and she talked me into it. Now we are lovely co-captains and best of buddies, I’m her stand-in mom, and she’s my stand-in cheerleader and my energy infusion and best-bud. She is keeping us together.”

Love was happy to have Goldberg join her on their team.

“I did the walk last year,” she said. “We had a really small team with only four people including myself, and we only raised about $800. This year, as soon as Linda signed on, it got humongous and we have more than 27 team members and $18,000 raised in a month and a half. We just want a cure. People will say, ‘Oh, but you look so good, we would have never guessed you had MS,’ and it’s not until we are in the hospital that they realize that it’s not going away.”

Goldberg was not sure if she would be able to participate in the walk this year because she was struggling with her illness.

“I just got out of the hospital yesterday,” she said. “I wouldn’t miss this, though. We are energized and ready to go.”

The National MS Society hosted seven walks across the state of Washington on April 13, and another in Seattle on April 14.

“Our fundraising goal is $2 million total for the eight walks throughout Washington,” said Jessica Kurtz of the National MS Society. “People have been fundraising for the last few months, and a lot of people have been bringing in donations today. The pledge deadline is May 6, so people can keep bringing in donations until then.”

Kurtz hoped that the Walk MS would raise awareness in the community.

“I think that with the weather the way it is, we could have had a lot of people not show up, but it just shows that the MS community here is strong and people are willing to come out and support their community, and it’s great. There’s a lot of people here. MS is the most prevalent in the Northwest, and you may think that you don’t know someone living with MS, but you probably do. Once somebody in your family or a friend has been diagnosed, it affects you and it affects everybody. This is a great event for people living with MS to come out and see how many people support them. People are just so excited to see all the encouragement, and it makes them feel really good.”

For more information on the Walk MS, or to donate, email walkMSnorthwest@nmss.org.