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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Woodstock Community Prepares To Lace Up & Step Out For An Eighth Year!
WOODSTOCK, 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 Woodstock and surrounding communities, including Putnam and Storrs Mansfield, lace up and step out in solidarity for a single cause to end the devastating effects of MS.
Hyde School will, for an eighth year, host the Travelers MS Walk, presented by UnitedHealth Group, on Sunday, April 29. 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 200 Woodstock residents exchanged sneakers for goulashes and sunglasses for umbrellas to step out to find a cure. Woodstock participants helped to raise more than $30,000 toward the 2006 $1 million goal.
“Each year, Woodstock 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 Woodstock walk site planning committee, including founding members Doris Dubra and Alexandra Brown, do 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, 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. More than 6,000 individuals statewide, including 206 in Windham County of which 15 reside in Woodstock, 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: Biogen Idec, 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.
3/29/07
NOTE TO MEDIA
For More Information
Contact Melissa Saranitzky
Communications Coordinator
Phone: 860.714.2300, ext. 239
E-mail: msaranitzky@ctfightsMS.org
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