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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Manchester Community Prepares To Lace Up & Step Out For A Fourteenth Year!

 MANCHESTER, Conn. More than 6,000 Connecticut residents battle the effects of multiple sclerosis (MS) daily. In a show of support, each year, hundreds of loved ones, friends, neighbors and co-workers throughout Manchester and surrounding communities, including Vernon and Glastonbury, lace up and step out in solidarity for a single cause to end the devastating effects of MS.

Manchester Community College (MCC) will, for a fourteenth year, host the Travelers MS Walk, presented by UnitedHealth Group, on Sunday, April 22. Check-in and registration begin at 8 a.m., and participants will step out at 9 a.m. Lunch will be provided by Subway and Coca-Cola.

Last year, despite pouring rain, more than 800 Manchester residents, including award-winning WTNH News Channel 8 meteorologist Mel Goldstein, Ph.D., “Dr. Mel,” exchanged sneakers for goulashes and sunglasses for umbrellas to step out to find a cure. Manchester participants helped to raise more than $113,000 toward the 2006 $1 million goal.Walker A

“Year after year, Manchester area residents come out in large numbers to demonstrate support for those in their community battling multiple sclerosis,” said Karen E. Butler, National MS Society, Greater Connecticut Chapter vice president. “Our Manchester walk site planning committee, under the leadership of Manchester resident and MCC professor Peter LaPlaca, does an exceptional job rallying the troops, bringing people together from all walks of life in a single effort to raise funds to find a cure.”

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, nuWalker Bmbness 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. More than 6,000 residents statewide, including more than 100 Manchester area 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 go to http://www.ctfightsms.org/ or 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.

 3/19/07

Contact: Karen E. Butler
Vice President, Communications
Phone: 860.714.2300, ext. 230
E-mail: kbutler@ctfightsMS.org
Cell Phone: 860.997.4487

 

 

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 about ways to help manage multiple sclerosis and about current research that may one day reveal a cure.

 

 

 

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