Walk MS Comes to Alameda County Fairgrounds

Pleasanton – The Northern California Chapter of the National Multiple Sclerosis (MS) Society will hold its annual Walk MS event at the Alameda County Fairgrounds on Sunday, April 19, 2015. Walk MS is a rallying point of the MS movement, a community coming together to raise funds and celebrate hope for the future.

More than 300 walkers are expected to come to Pleasanton and help raise the goal of $40,000. Money raised at Walk MS will support direct services for the nearly 12,500 people with MS and their families in Northern California. Funds raised also support MS research worldwide to stop MS in its tracks, restore function that’s been lost and end MS forever. Together, we will find a cure for this chronic, unpredictable disease of the central nervous system.

People can participate in Walk MS individually or as a team. Participants can choose a 1 mile or 5k walk, roll or stroll near the Alameda County Fairgrounds and downtown Pleasanton. Volunteers are also needed! There is guaranteed fun for the whole family, with entertainment on the route and at the finish festival with food, music, team booth and more.

New participants are invited to learn more about the National MS Society and Walk MS at local “Coffee Hours” at the following locations:

February 9 from 10:00am – 12:30pm: Starbucks Livermore Arcade Shopping Center (1472 First Street, Livermore, CA 94550)
February 23 from 3:00pm – 5:00pm: Starbucks (4930 Dublin Boulevard, Dublin, CA 94568)
March 9 from 10:00am – 12:30pm: Starbucks (4555 Hopyard Road, Pleasanton, CA 94588)

WHAT:Walk MS to benefit the Northern California Chapter of the National MS Society

WHEN:Sunday, April 19

8:00 am Registration Opens
8:45 am Opening Ceremonies
9:00 am Official Walk Start

WHERE:Alameda County Fairgrounds, Ivy Glen Picnic Area 4501 Pleasanton Ave. Pleasanton, CA 94566

PARTICIPATION/ VOLUNTEER REGISTRATION:
Visit www.WalkMS.org or call 1.800.FIGHT.MS.

WHY:Proceeds raised will benefit the nearly 12,500 people living with MS in Northern California, and their families through direct services and cutting-edge research.

About Multiple Sclerosis:
Multiple sclerosis is an unpredictable, often disabling disease of the central nervous system.
Symptoms range from numbness and tingling to blindness and paralysis. The advancement, severity and specific symptoms of MS in any one person cannot yet be predicted, but advances in research and treatment are moving us closer toward 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 2.3 million people worldwide.

About the National Multiple Sclerosis Society:
The National MS Society helps each person address the challenges of living with MS through our 50-state network of chapters.
Through our home office and 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. Join the movement at www.nationalMSsociety.org.