The drive of two local families saw them head to a MS Walk of Champions in Dallas, Texas, this past month, after they had each raised more than $10,000 for multiple sclerosis.
St. Paul’s Gail Plouffe and Corinne Webster Lotoski, along with their families, were among eight Lakeland residents that raised $10,000 each for multiple sclerosis research and support, with the other six people/teams from the Bonnyville area. As a result, they were given the opportunity to attend the Walk of Champions, held on April 11.
“It’s just inspirational,” Plouffe said of the walk. She notes that there were over 4,500 people at the Walk of Champions, many of whom were affected or touched by MS in some way.
“The disease picks who it wants to pick – kids, adults, all ages, all races. You feel that when you’re over there. Imagine walking with 4,500 people – it’s incredible.”
Organizers and attendees were “impressed” by the fact that of the 16 walkers and top fundraisers from Canada, half of them came from the Lakeland area, she said.
Plouffe and Jenna Macdonald, who both work at the MS Society of Canada’s Lakeland office, hope that many more people sign up to walk in the St. Paul walk, set to take place on May 9.
The local MS Walk is back in full force this year, after last year’s event was canceled in the wake of the May 9 shooting in St. Paul, but more walkers are needed to make the event a success.
MacDonald and Plouffe say registrations are a little slow this year compared to last, with 125 people registered to walk so far. The 2013 event was one of its biggest years, raising $184,000, with half the money raised staying within the Lakeland area and the rest going to Canadian cutting-edge research on MS.
“Canada is a top leading researcher in all the world for MS,” said MacDonald, noting that Canadian stem cell research is currently in its second trial, to combat a disease that can affect vision, hearing, memory, balance and mobility.
“It’s very, very promising for anyone with MS,” she said of the research.
MacDonald acknowledged that people may be hard-pressed to match the fundraising success of previous years, saying, “I think we do realize that right now the economy is not what it has been in previous years. But the reality is when the economy goes low, this is when people in need need it the most.”
People with MS might receive less funding as a result of the downturn in the economy, but must still find money to pay for equipment funding, their rent, yard care or home renovations for wheelchair accessibility, and more.
The Lakeland Jayman BUILT MS Walk offers two, five or 10 kilometre walk routes, or an official chipped and timed run options, with five kilometre, 10 kilometre, or 15 kilometre (half marathon) routes. As of last week, 12 runners were registered but organizers are hoping to see more people come out, perhaps in training for other events, such as the Iron Horse Mini on May 30.
Check-in time for the Lakeland Jayman Built MS Walk begins at 8:30 a.m. to 9 a.m., with the start time at 10 a.m. To register, people can visit http://www.mswalks.ca.
