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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
West Hartford Community Prepares To Lace Up & Step Out For a 28th Year!
WEST HARTFORD, Conn. Multiple Sclerosis affects thousands of Connecticut residents, forever changing lives and threatening mobility and independence. In a show of support, each year, hundreds of loved ones, friends, neighbors and co-workers throughout West Hartford and surrounding areas lace up and step out in solidarity for a single cause to end the devastating effects of MS.
The University of Connecticut Hartford campus will, for a 28th year, host the Travelers MS Walk, presented by UnitedHealth Group, on Sunday, April 22. Check-in and registration begin at 8 a.m., with participants stepping out at 9 a.m. Lunch is provided by Subway and Coca-Cola.
Last year, despite pouring rain, more than 950 West Hartford residents, including Jim Amann, who represents city of Milford at the capitol, and his walk team Team Amann, exchanged sneakers for goulashes and sunglasses for umbrellas to step out to find a cure. West Hartford area participants helped to raise more than $140,000 toward the 2006 $1 million goal. Established in 2004, Team Amann, is captained this year by Gary Turco.
“I’m in this fight to win,” said Amann, also a consultant for the National MS Society, Greater Connecticut Chapter. “More than 6,000 Connecticut residents battle the potentially debilitating effects of MS. I want to bring people together from all walks of life in support of a single cause to raise funds to find a cure. I invite everyone to step out April 22 and join me in the fight against MS.”
Multiple sclerosis is an autoimmune disease affecting the central nervous system. The cause is unknown, and, as a result, there currently is no cure. Symptoms can include, among other things, numbness and tingling in the limbs, difficulties with vision and speech, stiffness and, in some severe cases, total paralysis. The progress, severity, and specific symptoms of MS in any one person cannot be predicted. Approximately 6,000 residents statewide, including more than 1,424 Greater Harford residents, live with the baffling and unpredictable effects of multiple sclerosis. More than 400,000 Americans nationwide are diagnosed with MS.
The National MS Society, Greater Connecticut Chapter expects the 2007 Travelers MS Walk, presented by UnitedHealth Group, to raise more than $1.3 million. Last year, the MS Walk raised approximately $1 million. Additional partners stepping out in support include: Oxford Health Plans, St. Francis Hospital & Medical Center and Wal-Mart. For more information or to register, please call (860) 714 WALK. To learn more, listen to 96.5 TIC and 97.7 WCTY Country favorites or watch WTNH News Channel 8 and My TV 9 and local Comcast channels.
3/28/07
Karen E. Butler
Vice President of Communications
Greater Connecticut Chapter
tel +1.860.714.2300
cell +1.860.997.4487
JOIN THE MOVEMENT
ctfightsMS.org
Studies show that early and ongoing treatment with an FDA-approved therapy can reduce future disease activity and improve quality of life for many people with multiple sclerosis (MS). Talk to your health care professional and contact the National Multiple Sclerosis Society at www.nationalmssociety.org or 1.800.FIGHT-MS to learn aboutways to help manage multiple sclerosis and about current research that may one day reveal a cure
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