PARK FOREST RESIDENT ABAGAYLE KING IS 2015 SCHOLARSHIP RECIPIENT FROM NATIONAL MS SOCIETY

The Greater Illinois Chapter of the National Multiple Sclerosis Society has announced 19 new recipients of $1,000 college scholarships through its annual Scholarship Program, including Abagayle King, of Park Forest. She is a recent graduate of Crete Monee High School and will attend Lake Forest College this fall. With the help of the scholarship, Abagayle plans to major in biology, a subject she became interested in when she studied her mother’s MRI’s and reports from her mother’s neurologist.

The scholarship program helps students affected by multiple sclerosis pursue a college or technical school education. It is open to individuals who live with MS or have a parent who does. Applicants must plan to attend an accredited post-secondary school, and they can apply for any year of their undergraduate program.

“MS has affected mine and everyone else’s lives in our family,” said Abagayle in her scholarship application essay. “We walk, donate, sell items for donations, and intertwine our sports with benefits for MS. It has been a great experience to raise money and help put an effort towards finding a cure.”

In addition to the physical and emotional toll, MS can have a substantial financial impact on a family. The direct and indirect costs of MS, including lost wages — even for those with health insurance — are estimated at more than $70,000 annually per household. This makes funding a college education that much harder.

This year, more than $1.2 million in awards were presented to over 800 new and renewal recipients nationwide. Applications are evaluated on financial need, academic record, leadership and volunteer activities, a statement of educational and career goals, and letters of recommendation. Applicants are also asked to provide a personal statement describing the impact MS has had on their life. Scholarships range from $1,000 to $3,000 and recipients are eligible to reapply each year to be considered for a future award. The program is competitive and awards are not guaranteed.

“For the 20,000 people in Illinois affected by MS and the hundreds of thousands diagnosed with the disease across the country, there are very few known sources of scholarship assistance specially targeted for these families,” said Holly Messick, President, Greater Illinois Chapter. “MS shouldn’t stand in the way of an education, and we are hopeful this program will give families some relief.”

Information about scholarships for 2016-17 will be available on October 1. For more information, call 1-800-344-4867 or visit www.nationalMSsociety.org/scholarship.

About Multiple Sclerosis

Multiple sclerosis, an unpredictable, often disabling disease of the central nervous system, interrupts the flow of information within the brain, and between the brain and body. 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 are diagnosed between the ages of 20 and 50, with at least two to three times more women than men being diagnosed with the disease. MS affects more than 2.3 million people worldwide. It is the #1 disabling neurological disease in young to middle-aged adults.

About the National Multiple Sclerosis Society

The Society mobilizes people and resources to drive research for a cure and to address the challenges of everyone affected by MS. To fulfill this mission, the Society funds cutting-edge research, drives change through advocacy, facilitates professional education, collaborates with MS organizations around the world, and provides programs and services designed to help people with MS and their families move their lives forward. To move us closer to creating a world free of MS, last year alone, the Society invested $50.2 million to support more than 380 new and ongoing research projects around the world while providing program services to over one million people. Join the movement at nationalMSsociety.org.