Lace Up & Join the Movement to Create a World Free of MS! The 2011 Walker Handbook

Transcription

1 Lace Up & Join the Movement to Create a World Free of MS! The 2011 Walker Handbook

2 Dear MS Walker, Thank you for registering for Walk MS By participating in this event, you are helping us move towards a world free of multiple sclerosis! Your commitment and dedication plays a vital role to the success of Walk MS. The goal of Walk MS is to raise funds to support breakthrough research about multiple sclerosis and to provide critical client services and programs for over 400,000 Americans living with MS and their families. Last year, with the outstanding support of the walkers,volunteers, and sponsors, the Delaware walks raised over $260,000. With your help we can reach our goal of $300,000 in 2011! This walker handbook contains important information and tools to ensure that you have a successful walk and fundraising experience. If you have any questions or would like to request extra walk materials, please contact us at or check out Thank you for joining the movement! The MS Walk Team Holly Maddams Holly Maddams, MPA, CFRE Development Director holly.maddams@nmss.org Emilee Keyser Ainsley Hertrich Linda Kurtz Emilee Keyser Ainsley Hertrich Linda Kurtz Event Coordinator Volunteer Coordinator Teams Coordinator emilee.keyser@nmss.org ainsley.hertrich@nmss.org linda.kurtz@nmss.org National Multiple Sclerosis Society Delaware Chapter Two Mill Road, Suite 106 Wilmington, DE FIGHT MS ( ) Fax:

3 Table of Contents The National MS Society...2 About MS...2 Dates, Sites, and Directions... 3 Event Details: What to Expect... 4 Volunteers... 4 Online Tools... 5 Team MS Award and Prize Levels... 7 Best of Members of Team Spicy Stuff: Walk MS #1 Overall Top Fundraising Team

4 MS and The National MS Society Put the Mission in Your Step Are you walking for someone you know? During the walk, event participants wear I m walking for... stickers. These stickers have a space for walkers to write the name of the individual with MS that they are walking for. Wearing the stickers reminds walkers that every mile they walk brings us one step closer to curing MS for someone they love. I m walking for... stickers will be available at the registration tables the morning of the walk. About the 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 through our 50-state network of chapters. We fund more MS research, provide more services to people with MS, offer more professional education and further more advocacy efforts than any other MS organization in the world. The Society is dedicated to achieving a world free of MS. We are people who want to do something about MS NOW! What is Multiple Sclerosis? Multiple sclerosis is an autoimmune disease that affects the central nervous system (CNS). The CNS includes the brain, the spinal cord, and the optic nerves. It's surrounded by a fatty tissue called myelin that protects the nerve fibers and helps them conduct electrical impulses. What does MS do? When a person has MS, he or she loses myelin in more than one, or multiple, areas. The resulting scar tissue is called sclerosis. Sometimes the nerve fiber itself is damaged or broken. When myelin is destroyed or damaged, the nerves can't conduct electrical impulses to and from the brain. This breakdown is what produces the symptoms of MS. Symptoms of MS The symptoms of MS are unpredictable and various. A few of the more common ones are: fatigue, difficulty in walking, vision problems, emotional changes, problems with memory, attention, and problem solving, bladder/bowel dysfunction, dizziness/vertigo, numbness/pain, and sexual dysfunction. Varied Types of MS Just as symptoms are different among individuals, so are the types of multiple sclerosis. These types can be mild, moderate, or severe. There are four recognized types of multiple sclerosis, ranging from those that cause periodic relapses or attacks of symptoms that subsequently 'remit' or go away, to types that progressively worsen over time. These types further demonstrate why MS is such an unpredictable disease that affects those living with it in very different ways. For more information about MS please visit our national website at or call us at FIGHT MS.

5 Dates, Sites, and Directions Sunday, April 10, 2011 University of Delaware (Walk begins at 10:00 a.m. Registration begins at 9:00 a.m.) Location: Perkins Student Center, University of Delaware 325 Academy St Newark, DE Directions: Take I-95 to Delaware Exit 1-B; Route 896 North, which becomes South College Avenue at the intersection of Route 4. Continue straight approximately two miles on South College Avenue (past the Bob Carpenter/Sports Convention Center, Delaware Stadium and the Delaware Field House.) Go over the railroad bridge at the Amtrak station and turn right at the light onto East Park Place. Turn left at the first light onto Academy Street. The Perkins center parking garage will be on your right, opposite the tennis courts. Saturday, April 16, 2011 Historic Dover (Walk begins at 10:00 a.m. Registration begins at 9:00 a.m.) Location: Tatnall Building, Historic Dover 150 William Penn St Dover, DE Directions: From points north, take Rt. 13 south past Smyrna and into Dover. Turn right onto Court Street. Follow Court Street over to Legislative Mall. Turn left at Legislative Avenue. Follow to William Penn Street and turn left. The Tatnall Building will be on the right-hand side. Saturday, April 16, 2011 Wilmington Riverfront (Walk begins at 9:00 a.m. Registration begins at 8:00 a.m.) Location: Frawley Stadium, Wilmington Riverfront 801 S Madison St Wilmington, DE Directions: From points north, take I-95 South to Exit 6 Martin Luther King Blvd in Wilmington. Turn left at the 4th traffic light onto Martin Luther King Blvd. Turn Right at the 3rd traffic light onto South Madison Street and follow signs to the Riverfront. From points south, take I-95 North to Exit 6 Maryland Avenue in Wilmington and turn right onto Maryland Avenue. Follow the signs to the Riverfront, turning right just before the 1st traffic light. Turn right onto South Madison Street and follow signs to Frawley Stadium. Friday, April 29, 2011 Twilight at Heritage Shores (Walk begins at 6:00 p.m. Registration begins at 5:00 p.m.) Location: Heritage Shores Country Club 1 Heritage Shores Cir Bridgeville, DE Directions: Heritage Shores Country Club can be accessed from points north and south via Rt. 13. The entrance to Heritage Shores is about 1.5 miles south of the Route 404 exit off of Rt. 13. The entrance will be on your right. Friday, June 3, 2011 Twilight at Baywood Greens (Walk begins at 6:00 p.m. Registration begins at 5:00 p.m.) Location: Baywood Greens Clubhouse Clubhouse Way Long Neck, DE Directions: From Rehoboth: From Route 1, go west on Route 24 (about 7 miles). The entrance for the Clubhouse will be on your left. From Millsboro: From Route 113, take Route 24 east just over seven miles: after you pass Long Neck Road (Route 23), the entrance to the Clubhouse and the golf course will be on your right.

6 Event Details The Day of the Walk: What to Expect Check-in and Registration vary depending on your walk site. Check the Dates, Sites and Directions section to see what time check-in opens. Everyone must check-in the day of the walk! Please bring any contributions you have not already submitted to us or collected online. You may bring the pledge sheet with you if you would like, but it is not required! When you check-in, you will recieve a Walk MS map and will be asked to sign a waiver. If you are eligible for a fundraising prize, pick-up a prize fulfillment form to fill out and mail to our office. Your prize coupon will then be sent to you in the mail a few weeks after the walk. Remember, if you turn in at least $100.00, you will receive a Walk MS t-shirt! Fruit, water, and other refreshments will be available at the rest stops! Volunteers Volunteers play an integral role in the success of Walk MS. We need your help to recruit helpful hands to assist us on the day of the walk! Please keep this opportunity in mind when you are recruiting friends, family, and co-workers to join you! Walk MS has volunteer opportunities for everyone. Some of our volunteer needs are assistance at registration, staffing rest stops, helping with finish line festivities, set-up, breakdown, and much more. Volunteers can register online at To register, select the Volunteer tab on the left hand side of page; once the page refreshes select the blue sign-up today link on the page. Choose your preferred walk site and select volunteer. Fill in the requested information and a member of our Development Team will contact you shortly! For more information on volunteering for Walk MS, please contact Ainsley Hertrich, Volunteer Coordinator at ext. 129 or by at ainsley.hertrich@nmss.org.

7 Online Tools Participant Center As a registered walker of Walk MS 2011, you are automatically assigned your own personal web space, called your Participant Center, which is designed to facilitate every aspect of your fundraising needs. To access your Participant Center, visit Click on the gray box that says Log In to My Participant Center at the top of the page. You will then need to enter the username and password created in the online registration process. If you did not register online and would like to create a username and password, please contact MS Database Administrator Chris Kyelberg at ext If you ve forgotten your password, you can click the Forgot your password? link at the bottom of the gray box and your password will be ed to you. After you ve logged in, the page will refresh and display the walk(s) link(s) you are registered for. Please select your walk to enter your Participant Center. Once you enter, you will find four main links across the top of the page: Home, , Progress, & Personal Page. If you re a Team Captain, you will also have a Team Page link. The Home link is for your Participant Center. You can return to the main page from any other page within the Participant Center. This is also where you can revise your fundraising goal and check for updates from the Walk MS Team. From the link, you may send custom messages or use one of the provided templates. We strongly encourage everyone to personalize their message; only you can really explain why you re participating. These s automatically include a link to your Personal Page, making it easier for friends and family to sponsor you, or to join you by registering to walk or volunteer. The Progress section allows you to see just how far you ve come in your fundraising efforts. There is a gift summary section, where you can compare your online and offline donations, view your fundraising thermometer and graph outlining when donations were made by month, and access an overall gift history. The fourth link is for your Personal Page. Personalize your page by adding a picture, editing text, and altering the color scheme and layout of this page. The look of this page and the narrative you share about why you walk is completely up to you. This is the webpage that your friends and family will see when you ask them to sponsor you online. It is also where you will find your honor roll of donors and your personal fundraising thermometer. Team Captains will have an extra link, Team Page. This is where you have the ability to build a unique team webpage, view your team roster, track your team s progress, and send out Join My Team s and other s to your team members, to keep them up to date.

8 Forming a Team... Strengthens teamwork and team building skills Boosts corporate pride and employee retention Encourages community involvement Easier to train and fundraise with others More fun to participate as a group Team photos Chance to qualify for team awards throughout walk season! Get Started Today! Forming a team is as easy as 1, 2, Recruit, recruit, recruit! Ask everyone you know to join you! Contact our Team Coordinator at , or check out our creative recruitment ideas on our website. Remember: if they are unable or don t want to walk there are many volunteer opportunities available. 2. Fundraise There is no minimum pledge requirement, but remember each participant who turns in $100 or more will receive a Walk MS T-shirt! See the fundraising materials you can download for free online! 3. Make it Fun! Don't forget to make the experience fun for everyone involved! Team MS Recruit! Spread the word to friends, family and co-workers encouraging them to join you! MS Walk teams consist of at least four people, but there is no limit to the number of team members one team can include! The more people, the more fun it will be and the more money your team will raise together. Register! Each team member must complete and return the 2011 Walk MS registration form or register online at Remember to include your team name on all registration forms. Distribute registration forms with your team's name already filled in to friends and colleagues encouraging them to join your team. Keep an updated roster of all team members, and maintain regular contact with s, phone calls and team meetings. Set a team fundraising goal. Each participant who turns in $100 or more will receive a Walk MS T-shirt. Use this as a starting point to set your fundraising goal! Organize team fundraisers and support each other as you get closer to your fundraising goal. See the fundraising materials available to download online to get geat ideas on how to fundraise in your community and at work. You can also check out the fundraising section of our website for more creative ideas! Contact the Walk MS Staff! We are more than happy to help you! Request MS Walk materials such as posters, brochures, buttons, and/or literature on multiple sclerosis and National Multiple Sclerosis Society programs. Forming a Corporate Team? Arrange to have a staff member visit your company to promote the MS Walk and help you recruit participants for your team! Create personalized team T-shirts. Wear them at Walk MS and cheer each another on as you cross the finish line! We have developed a new team award for best team shirt at each walk site, so be creative! Visit our website at or call our Teams Coordinator at for a list of local t-shirt vendors. Don t forget to get your photo taken in your shirts at the walk!

9 Awards and Prizes While we are maintaining online prize fulfillment for our 2011 walks, we have all new prizes and fundraising levels! We have numerous name brand options this year, and all prizes will ship within hours of submitting your preference online. Feel free to browse the options now! If you have any questions regarding prize fulfillment, contact Walk MS Event Coordinator Emilee Keyser at or ext Fundraising Levels 2011 Level 1: $100- Walk MS T-shirt Level 2: $250-$399 Level 3: $400-$799 Level 4: $800-$1,299 Level 5: $1,300-$2,499 Level 6: $2,500-$4,999 Level 7: $5,000-$7,499 Level 8: $7,500-$9,999 Level 9: $10,000+ Individual and Team Recognition All individuals who raise $1,550 or more this year in confirmed donations will be recognized in the 2011 wrap-up newsletter as an official member of the 2011 MS Society Mission Possible Club! We had 16 members in 2010, so get your fundraising kicked off early and join the club! All teams who raise $1,550 or more this year in confirmed donations will become members of the 2011 Heart and Sole Club. We had 39 teams qualify in 2010 and we know how close many of you are to joining the club, so get started today! Beyond fundraising there are other great awards and recognition your team can receive! Get your team picture taken at the walk in your team t-shirt...the team with the best shirt will win! Check the website throughout the year for pre-walk incentives, prizes, and awards that get you in step and on your way towards a great walk!

10 2010 Top Fundraisers and Teams by Site Best of 2010 Wilmington Bianca Fraser-Johnson $27, Spicy Stuff $41, Baywood Kay Oesterling $6,366 Zoom Zooms $13,435 Heritage Shores Kelly Griffith $4,964 Kelly s Crusaders $6,224 Dover Bryce Byers $3,015 Team Donway & Friends $6,377 U of D Jacob Markiewitz $3, The Daring Dashers $8,345 Heart and Sole Club 2010 Teams who raised $1,550+ Spicy Stuff $41, Zoom Zooms $13, The Daring Dashers $8, Walk This Way $6, American Legion Post 28 Family $6, Team Donaway and Friends $6, Kelly s Crusaders $6, Nicholas Little Lights $6, Sterling Stars $5, We re Off to See the Wizard $5, Honda Racers $5, Eastern States Construction $4, Team Eagle Group $4, Barclaycard $3, Wheeler s Wobblers $3, APS $3, Janice $3, Byers One $3, Chase the Cure $3, Twisted Helixes 2010 $3, Woods Walkers $3, Dominee s Team $2, Alicia s Allies $2, TEAM NICOLE $2, Team Nova $2, Alfieri $2, Team McHorton $2, Charlie s Angels $2, Knock! Knock! $2, MS is BS $1, Vivian s Style $1, The Pacers $1, Team Erin $1, Dave s Team $1, Wilmington Trust Team $1, Wild Walkers $1, TKD Club $1, The Jocks Rock! $1, Beachfront Ave. $1, Mission Possible Club 2010 Individuals who raised $1,550+ Fraser-Johnson, Bianca $27, Oesterling, Kay $6, Griffith, Kelly $4, Chambers, Kristin $3, Markiewitz, Jacob $3, Byers, Bryce $3, Wheeler, Joan $2, Jones, Melinda $2, Hendricks, Pris $2, Sterling, Amy $2, Petitdemange, Janice $2, Cox, Kimberly $1, McGinniss, Louise $1, Colvett Monroe $1, Wingfield, Jane $1, O Dwyer, Patrick $1,570.00

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