Schools
Students Take Steps to Find a Cure for MS
Corpus Christi School takes part in the fifth annual walk event held at the school for multiple sclerosis
Students at are not only learning lessons in helping others, they’re living the message.
For the fifth straight year, the Corpus Christi students donned their walking shoes to fundraise in hopes of finding a cure for multiple sclerosis, a degenerative disease that affects the neuromuscular system.
“The children are very excited to participate in the annual walk, even the little ones take part,” said Pre-K teacher Amy Strafford, who organizes the event every year. “It’s amazing that this small school raises the money that it does.”
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To date, Corpus Christi students have raised approximately $50,000 in five years. This year’s exact amount has not yet been totaled.
“It’s remarkable,” said Joe Revello, Strafford’s brother-in-law, who was diagnosed more than 10 years ago with MS. “It’s a blessing that these
kids do this.”
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Revello, a Plainfield resident, along with Strafford have helped spearhead “Team Bradco,” (named for Revello’s former place of employment),
which was among the top fundraising teams for multiple sclerosis in New Jersey and in the nation.
In attendance for the event were Jim Roberts, president of the Metro Chapter (offices are in Paramus and Oakhurst); Mike Gibney, member of the board of trustees; Karen Drzik, executive VP of development; Allison Story, coordinator of teams; and Katelyn DeGennaro, Revello’s and Strafford’s niece who helps organize fundraising efforts for MS in the area.
Meanwhile, Corpus Christi students marched through the school’s
halls, on the playground and throughout the neighborhood in a symbolic gesture of the Society’s “Walk.”
“This is one of the school’s biggest fundraisers,” said Principal Michele Murillo, noting that the school does not keep any of the funds raised. “The children look forward to this every year. They embrace it, enjoy it, and they do an unbelievable job. We walk so that others can, too.”
Multiple sclerosis is an autoimmune disease that affects the central nervous system and attacks the myelin sheath, the protective covering that surrounds nerve cells. When this covering is damaged, nerve impulses are slowed down or stopped.
Multiple sclerosis affects between 250,000 to 350,000 men and women in the U.S. every year.