LANCASTER – Multiple Sclerosis (MS) Awareness Week is March 2-8, and people around the world and here locally are celebrating by creating connections that are stronger than those MS destroys.
“MS kills connections and connections kill MS,” explained Christine Grontkowski, Community Development Manager for the National MS Society in the Antelope Valley. “Our hope is that more connections will be formed, leading to more resources for those affected by MS, more understanding and more answers.”
One way volunteers plan to increase awareness in the Antelope Valley is by “Painting The BLVD Orange.”
Volunteers from the Lancaster High School Interact Club, which also has a Walk MS team, will be tying orange ribbons to trees along Lancaster Boulevard on Thursday, Feb. 26. Orange is the signature color of the National MS Society.
Residents can get involved by wearing orange next week, by registering a team to participate in the Antelope Valley’s biggest MS fundraising event,Walk MS, or by promoting or attending the following Walk MS team fundraisers being held during the month of March:
Sunday, March 1 – Tuesday, March 31. Every time you dine at the Sub-Machine in Lancaster or Palmdale and present this flyer when you pay, the restaurant will donate 20 percent of your total bill to the Antelope Valley Walk MS.
Wednesday, March 4. Applebee’s in Palmdale will make a donation to the National MS Society through the Walk MS team “The Sunflowers.” All you have to do is dine between 5 and 9 p.m. and present this flyer when you pay; 15 percent of your check will be donated.
Wednesday, March 18. BJ’s Restaurant & Brewhouse in Palmdale will donate 15 percent of your bill through “The Sunflowers” team, if you present this flyer when paying.
Thursday, March 26. Cold Stone Creamery, one of the Antelope Valley Walk MS sponsors, will donate a portion of your bill through the team “MOMS – Move Over MS” if you mention Walk MS when paying. View the flyer here.
For more information on any of these fundraisers, or to learn more about Walk MS or the National MS Society, call 661-321-9512 ext. 66401 or email christine.grontkowski@nmss.org.
About Multiple Sclerosis
Multiple sclerosis is an unpredictable often disabling disease of the central nervous system that interrupts the flow of information within the brain and between the brain and body. 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. Most people with MS are diagnosed between the ages of 20 and 50, with at least two to three times more women than men being diagnosed with the disease. MS affects more than 2.3 million worldwide.
In 2014, the National Multiple Sclerosis Society invested $50.6 million to advance more than 380 research projects around the world. Through its network of programs and services, it also helped more than one million people affected by MS.
–