Welcome to Walk MS www.walktoedms.org or 1-800-FIGHT-MS
You Did It! You took the first step i creatig a world free of MS by registerig for Walk MS 2012. Now let the fu begi At Walk MS 2012 we are lookig for 100% participatio, meaig we wat everyoe to fudraise. Whether you raise $25 or $25,000, every dollar will make a differece i the lives of thousads who are affected by MS. This Welcome Packet will help you get started! The Natioal MS Society wats to esure that your experiece is the best ever. Should you have ay questios or commets please feel free to reach us at walkms@cal.mss.org or at 1.800.344.4867. Kid regards, Your Walk MS Staff 2 2012: Walk MS
What s Iside? Why We Participate...4 fudraisig fast & simple... 5 For Your Doors...7 Joi the Movemet & Team Up!... 8 Social Media...9 How your fudraisig helps!... 11 Prizes...12 walk ms fudraisig clubs...13 commoly asked questios...16 For more iformatio & team resources, please go to: WalkToEdMS.org The Walk is a celebratio for me every year. I celebrate what I ca do physically but also for the commuity as a whole. I look forward to spedig time with frieds ad family o this day ad seeig my other frieds with MS. WalkToEdMS.org 3
Why we participate I 1990 my girlfried Robi foud out she had MS. My first thought was How do I fix this? I soo realized I could t fix her MS, but I could focus my eergy ito somethig that would raise moey so others could work o fidig a cure. That year I walked i my first MS Walk with a group of 5 frieds we called ourselves Walki Robis. 22 years later we are still walkig ad ow sposored by Northrop Grumma, with two teams ad over 220 participats. Robi ad the may others I kow with MS ispire me to cotiue my fudraisig efforts ad to ecourage others to put their eergy ito makig a differece. Debbie Speckmeyer, Northrup Grumma, Team Captai 4 2012: Walk MS
Fudraisig Fast & Simple Be creative! Be fu! Be ethusiastic... You are makig a differece! Step 1: Set a Fudraisig Goal Set a fudraisig goal so that you have somethig to work toward. Make your goal challegig, but attaiable. If you are t sure what amout to start with, shoot for a fudraisig goal of $100. Last year the average walker raisd $265, but who wats to be average? Strive to be extraordiary ad be a champio i helpig those i your local commuity livig with MS! Step 2: Use your Participat Ceter The best way to fudraise is olie ad your Participat Ceter makes it easy. Everyoe who registers for Walk MS gets a Participat Ceter, the olie hub for maagig your fudraisig efforts. From your Participat Ceter, you ca edit your persoal page, e-mail doors, maage your campaig ad, for team captais, follow your team s progress. Persoalize your page ad share your story. Make it about you ad your family ad frieds will make geerous doatios! People who chage their olie persoal page raise a average of $415 versus $115 for those who do t. Dowload your step-by-step Participat Ceter Guide at www.walktoedms.org by clickig o the Dowload Walk MS Tools WalkToEdMS.org 5
Step 3: Ask ad ask BIG! Do t be afraid to ask for a certai amout. Let everyoe kow you are participatig i Walk MS. Start with your frieds ad family. The cosider reachig out to the busiesses you frequet, former classmates ad roommates, members of clubs ad orgaizatios to which you belog, your doctors ad detist, families of your childre s schoolmates or teammate. Ask your cotacts to support you by doatig o your behalf, joiig you at the Walk or by voluteerig at the evet. Use Social Networkig tools such as Facebook, Twitter ad YouTube. Iclude a lik to your persoal Walk MS page i your email sigature. Hag a Walk MS poster i your office, gym, local coffee shop or place of worship. Visit our website to fid other dowloadable Walk MS tools to help you i your fudraisig efforts. Do t forget to ask your employer about Matchig Gifts, a quick ad easy way to double your moey! Also ask each of your doors to utilize their matchig gift programs. Just make sure that your ame is o all of the paperwork. If you have t already, jumpstart your fudraisig efforts today by makig a self-pledge. Step 4: Thak your doors. Sed your doors thak you e-mails ad or letters for their geerous doatios. Share your fudraisig success with them, your Walk MS evet day photos ad most importatly iform them of how the Natioal MS Society is usig their doatio to ed MS forever! *** To fid more tools ad tips to assist i your fudraisig efforts visit us at www.walktoedms.org ad click o the Dowload Walk MS Tools tab. *** Remember: No oe ca say yes uless you ask! 6 2012: Walk MS
For Your Doors Make checks payable to the Natioal MS Society or NMSS. Iclude the ame of the walker i the memo portio of the check. Mail checks to: Natioal MS Society, Att: Walk MS, 2440 S. Sepulveda Blvd., Suite 115, Los Ageles, CA 9006 All doatios to the Natioal MS Society are tax deductible. The Natioal MS Society issues receipts for all doatios above $150. If you have a doatio below $150 ad eed a receipt, please iclude a ote requestig a receipt with the check. DO NOT MAIL CASH. Ecourage your doors to make their doatios olie. Doatios made olie are set a reciept immediately via e-mail regardless of the amout of the cotributio. WalkToEdMS.org 7
Joi the Movemet & Team up! Nearly 75% of walkers i Walk MS participate as part of a team. What makes a team? It oly takes four or more like-mided people to joi together ad form a team. Teams come i all shapes ad sizes, aywhere from the 4 to 600 people. Team members ca participate as a walker, a voluteer, or eve a virtual walker; you do t actually have to walk at the evet to be a part of the movemet. Joiig the movemet is more fu with others aroud! Plus, you ca ear some really great prizes. Formig a team is easy Desigate a team captai, make up a fu team ame, ad whe you register olie for Walk MS, choose the optio to create a ew team. Already registered, but wat to start a team? Cotact us at 800.344.4867 or walkms@cal.mss.org. HOW DO I BECOME AN ELITE TEAM? You ca become a Elite Team by reachig a team fudraisig total of $10,000 or more. If your team raises $20,000 or more you ll reach Super Elite Team status ad by a miimum of $50,000 you ll be oe of a few teams to have ever reached Platium Elite Team Status. Check out our Team page at WalkToEdMS.org to lear about all the beefits ad perks of becomig a Elite, Super Elite or Platium Elite Team. 8 2012: Walk MS
Social Media Usig social media to fudraise, grow a team ad to icrease awareess. Facebook www.facebook.com Facebook is the most popular social etwork i the world, helpig people coect ad commuicate with people they kow, ad ecouragig easy sharig of importat ews, evets ad pictures. Share the word about your upcomig Walk faster ad easier tha ever before! LikedI www.likedi.com This place for professioals has the potetial to expose your team to folks who are capable of makig doatios. LikedI Groups ca help you to coect with others of similar passios ad iterests who could potetially create or joi a team. Twitter www.twitter.com Twitter is oe of the fastest growig social etworks. It is a microbloggig platform that allows you to sed a 140-character (or less) about aythig you wat to ayoe followig you. Tweet about your Walk ad team ofte! WalkToEdMS.org 9
YouTube www.youtube.com YouTube brigs your cause to life by givig frieds, family ad fas a place to view footage of evets, ispiratioal videos ad slideshows. Share your Walk experieces ad ivite others to joi you or support you with a doatio. Your Persoal Fudraisig Web Page url varies by evet Create ad customize your persoal fudraisig webpage after you register for a Walk evet. You ca accept doatios olie, sed thak you emails, share your progress ad, ivite your frieds to joi your cause. The Society makes it quick ad easy to get started with a simple logi. 10 2012: Walk MS
How Your Fudraisig Helps! The moey you raise supports cuttig-edge research ito ways to STOP the progressio of the disease, RESTORE fuctio that s bee lost, ad END MS forever. Doatios also support a wide rage of programs ad services icludig welless ad educatioal programs, couselig, ad fiacial assistace for 19,000 Souther ad Cetral Califorias ad Nevadas livig with MS ad their families. Where the Moey Goes $25 Buys automated DNA sequecig of oe sample $100 Fuds oe hour of MS research activity $250 Buys a air coditioer to keep someoe cool durig the hot summer ad better maage MS symptoms $500 Provides access to a MS specialist for a cosultatio o treatmets ad symptom maagemet $1,000 Provides idividual professioal couselig $2,500 Provides a college scholarship for a perso with MS or the child of a paret with MS 80% Programs/Educatio/Research 20% Fudraisig/Admiistratio WalkToEdMS.org 11
Prizes Prizes are based o per perso fudraisig tured i o or Before Jue 15 th*. We offer great prizes to reward our top fudraisers for their efforts. The more you raise, the better the prize you ca ear! All participats who raise $100+ will receive a commemorative Walk MS 2012 t-shirt o the morig of the evet Walkers ad voluteers turig i $250 or more are eligible for additioal prizes awarded after the Jue 15th deadlie, icludig commemorative clothig, exercise equipmet, electroics ad more! Or, you ca decide to geerously doate your prize back to the Chapter. By doig so, you ca direct eve more fuds to support 19,000 local people livig with MS. * Walk MS: Bakersfield & South Lake Tahoe prize deadlie is December 7 th For more iformatio o prizes visit www.walktoedms.org ad click o Fudraisig Clubs & Prizes tab. 12 2012: Walk MS
Walk MS Fudraisig Clubs Get movig ad you ca joi a prestigious Walk MS club. The pride you will feel, kowig what a differece your efforts make i the lives of people with MS, will amaze you. The more moey you raise, the more perks you receive! You ear your top fudraiser status this year ad reap the rewards i 2013. 100 This club icludes our top fudraisers #1-#100. I 2011, this club raised a staggerig $659,814! Top 100 Club members receive: Top 100 glass award A log sleeve Walk MS commemorative t-shirt with Top 100 logo ad a VIP bib umber Day of Walk: VIP parkig, check-i ad breakfast Access to our VIP tet (select locatios) with specials treats such as a massage therapists ad food! Tremedous 200 This club icludes our top fudraisers #101-#200. I 2011, this club raised $201,205! Tremedous 200 Club members receive: A special Walk MS Commemorative t-shirt with Tremedous 200 logo ad a VIP bib umber Day of Walk: VIP parkig, check-i ad breakfast Access to our VIP tet (select locatios) with special treats such as a massage therapist ad food! WalkToEdMS.org 13
Fabulous 400 This club icludes our top fudraisers #202-#400. I 2011, this club raised $226,294! Fabulous 400 Club members receive: A special Walk MS Commemorative t-shirt with the Fabulous 400 logo ad a VIP bib umber Day of Walk: VIP parkig, check-i ad breakfast Access to our VIP tet (select locatios) with special treats such as a massage therapist ad food! Elite Feet Elite Feet iclude participats ad voluteers who raise $500 or more for the Walk MS 2012 campaig. You will receive a commemorative Walk MS wearable item that you ca show off o Walk day! Be recogized this year for the moey you raised i 2012. 14 2012: Walk MS
Cogratulatios to our Top Fudraisers i 2011 Reé Webb David Perre Jack Bock Stacy Wilder Jaso Le Barry Egelma Debbie Speckmeyer Susa Bereso Dave Eaga Lidsay Bubar Steve Alfieris Michael & Gail Gerber Bruce Johso Jeff Schatz Traci Egelma Larry Witer Cogratulatios to our Elite Teams i 2011 Northrop Grumma - LA Joyful Noise Team Egelma MS Achievers - UCLA BPSD, LLP WELLS FARGO JiggyWiggits Studley-Wolcott-Wilder Smiles for Tammy XKs Ulimited Jaguars Crazy Beth s Crew Collee s Crusaders The teams above each raised $20,000 or more. Visit our Website to see a complete list of our 2011 top 400 ad Elite Teams. WalkToEdMS.org 15
Commoly Asked Questios How do I get help ad set up my participat ceter? We at the Natioal MS Society are here to help you reach your fudraisig goals. Please give us a call ad we will gladly help you with fudraisig ad recruitmet ideas. I additio, we ca help you set up your Participat Ceter so you ca better raise fuds olie. Do t wait, call us at 800.344.4867 or 310.479.4456. Do I eed to raise moey? Is t my attedace eough support? Walk MS is a fudraiser. Moey raised supports people with MS ad their families throughout Souther ad Cetral Califoria ad Nevada. While there is o fudraisig miimum, there is also o registratio fee; we ecourage everyoe who participates to shoot for a fudraisig goal of $100. 16 2012: Walk MS
How do I tur i cotributios? We recommed turig i cotributios right away. The faster you tur i your cotributios, the faster the Natioal MS Society ca begi puttig those cotributios to good work. Do t hold o to checks! Make sure you write your ame i the memo of the check. Sed checks to : Natioal MS Society, Att: Walk MS 2440 S. Sepulveda Blvd., Suite 115, Los Ageles, CA 90064 Olie cotributios are automatically credited to your accout. Brig remaiig cotributios with you o Walk day. Prize redemptio is oly based o total cotributios tured i o or before Jue 15*. What should I do with the cash I collect? There are three optios for cash doatios: 1. 2. 3. You ca drop off the doatios at your local Natioal MS Society office. You ca covert the cash doatios ito a moey order persoal check or make the doatio olie. You ca brig the cash with you the day of the Walk ad tur it i at registratio. Whe will I receive my prize(s)? The official Walk MS T-shirt will be available at the evet. Prizes are based o moey tured i o or before Jue 15, 2012*. Prize certificates will be set 1 to 2 weeks after the deadlie. * Bakersfield & South Lake Tahoe deadlie is December 7th. WalkToEdMS.org 17
What do I eed to brig to Walk MS? Be sure to wear comfortable shoes. Brig layer items of clothig. I Califoria & Nevada the sprig time weather ca rage from cold ad raiy to very hot. Ay last miute or cash doatios. They ca be tured i whe you check-i. How will the MS Society kow how much I have i olie cotributios? Olie cotributios automatically are credited to your accout. However, we will ot have access to that iformatio o the day of the evet, so make sure to check your olie total before the evet. How log is the walk? The route is 5K (3.2 miles) ad we have a Family Fu Route (1 mile or less). All routes are accessible ad fully supported with water, sacks ad restrooms. Safety ad gear vehicles patrol the route to trasport walkers at ay time. What if there is iclemet weather? Like the effects of MS go o, so do we rai, sow or shie. Please dress i layers accordigly. 18 2012: Walk MS
Stay Coected! This welcome mailer will be oe of the very few Walk MS mailigs you will receive. Be sure that you have selected to receive Walk MS emails so that you kow about importat evet updates, icetive challeges, ad more. Please help us to be gree by keepig you iformed via emails. Visit www.walktoedms.com ad click o My Accout. After you log i, click Edit Profile ad double check that beside Accept Email you see Yes. CALIFORNIA 04.15.12 Greater Los Ageles Pasadea Rose Bowl 04.21.12 Coejo Valley Coejo Creek Park Freso Woodward Park Desert Cities Palm Desert Civic Ceter Park Sa Luis Obispo Missio Plaza 04.28.12 Atelope Valley Lacaster Marketplace Ilad Empire Quake Stadium Log Beach Belmot Pool S.W. Riverside Couty Tow Square Park, Murrieta 05.05.12 Big Bear Alpie Pedal Path Sata Barbara Leadbetter Beach 10.27.12 Bakersfield Yokuts Park NEVADA 05.05.12 Las Vegas Tow Square Reo/Sparks Idlewild Park Terrace 09.22.12 South Lake Tahoe Camp Richardso WalkToEdMS.org 19
Natioal Multiple Sclerosis Society Souther Califoria & Nevada Chapter 2440 S. Sepulveda Blvd. Suite #115 Los Ageles, CA 90064