What Will You Do? Join The Movement To End Multiple Sclerosis During MS Awareness Week March 10-17

MS Awareness Week March 10 - 17 unites MS organizations and all those living with the effects of multiple sclerosis nationwide in an effort to shine a spotlight on the exciting developments that have occurred this year in treating and understanding MS, a disease where someone is newly diagnosed each hour.

What will you do?

Ways To Join The MS Movement

The National Multiple Sclerosis Society invites people across the county to join the movement to move us closer to a world free of MS by taking simple actions throughout the week, as part of a worldwide "Seven Days of Action." These activities, just a click away, are designed to be meaningful and easy, whether you are a newcomer or longtime member of the MS Movement. They include:

- Visiting http://www.nationalMSsociety.org daily during MS Awareness Week for new tips and updates on what others are doing to help end MS

- Emailing your members of Congress about the need for increased funding for M S research

- Signing up for a Walk MS or Bike MS event

- Raising awareness by going orange, the color signifying MS and the National MS Society - there are hats, t-shirts, clings, clips and jewelry available for those who want to show they are a part of the MS Movement

- Signing up to volunteer

- Making your mark against MS or sharing your story at http://www.nationalMSsociety.org

- Supporting the Society - every donation brings us closer to a cure

"MS Awareness Week is the perfect time to join the movement to help end MS," said Joyce Nelson, President and CEO of the National MS Society. "It is also the ideal time to recognize the millions of individuals who are already a part of the movement and each day make a difference in the lives of people who have MS."

Highlights During MS Awareness Week

Moving Forward MS Film Festival

- The first-ever MS film festival will debut on Second Life on Wednesday March 12 at noon (PT) during MS Awareness Week. The five first-person shorts can also be seen on the Society's Web site: http://www.nationalMSsociety.org/filmfestival

Launch of a New More Streamlined National Web Site

The Society's new Web site debuts on March 10. It has been redesigned to make it easier than ever for people with MS and people concerned about MS to find the resources they need.

- Throughout MS Awareness Week, in addition to tips on ways to join the MS Movement, the home page will profile exciting and inspiring volunteers.

- The Society's online store is introduced where consumers can buy Society items or items from companies and individuals that support the Society

Satellite Media Tour with Jordan Sigalet on March 10

- In collaboration with corporate partner MS Lifelines, live and taped TV interviews have been booked with Providence Bruin hockey star Jordan Sigalet who lives with MS and Society spokesman Dr. Nicholas LaRocca.

Mobility Survey Data To Be Announced

- The Society will release an overview of the first Harris Interactive Poll ever to survey people with MS and their care partners about mobility issues. The initiative was done in collaboration with Acorda Therapeutics. An in-depth media briefing on the survey's findings will follow on April 8 in New York.

Advocacy Action Alert

- A cross-organizational advocacy alert will be distributed on Tuesday, March 11, to encourage people to ask their federal representatives for increased MS research funding

A Campaign That Moves With You Wherever You Go

The "Join the Movement" campaign has also inspired a wide variety of support from corporations who have donated time, space, creative services and funds to ensure the success of MS Awareness Week and help people with MS move their lives forward. Thanks to the leadership of these corporate supporters, MS Awareness Week 2008 has once again increased the visibility of the MS movement. The National MS Society extends a thank-you to: Bayer HealthCare Pharmaceuticals, Clear Channel Communications, Developers Diversified Realty, EMD Serono and Pfizer Inc, Endless Pools Inc, Genentech/Biogen Idec, Microsoft, Novartis Pharmaceuticals, Teva Neuroscience, The Vitamin Shoppe, and Westfield Shopping Centres.

National MS Chapter Activities

From coast to coast, the Society's 50-state network of chapters are introducing their own special events to support MS Awareness Week and encourage people to "Join the MS Movement." They include billboards, banners and displays, "go orange" days, state capitol advocacy days, health fairs, on-the-road MS awareness tours, and alliances with local business and cultural institutions. To find out what is happening in your area, contact your local Society office at 1-800-344-4867 or visit http://www.natonalMSsociety.org to find your chapter.

About Multiple Sclerosis

Multiple sclerosis interrupts the flow of information between the brain and the body and stops people from moving. Every hour in the United States, someone is newly diagnosed with MS, an unpredictable, often disabling disease of the central nervous system. 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, but advances in research and treatment are moving us closer to a world free of MS. Most people with MS are diagnosed between the ages of 20 and 50, with more than twice as many women as men being diagnosed with the disease. MS affects more than 400,000 people in the U.S. and 2.5 million worldwide.

About the National MS Society

MS stops people from moving. The National MS Society exists to make sure it doesn't. We help each person address the challenges of living with MS. In 2006 alone, through our home office and our 50 state network of chapters, we devoted nearly $126 million to programs that enhanced more than one million lives to move us closer to a world free of MS. The Society also invested more than $46 million to support 440 research projects around the world. We are people who want to do something about MS NOW.

National MS Society