Mandarin MS Walk on Sunday raised research, support funds

May 10, 2018 · 0 Comments

Written By JASEN OBERMEYER

While it was a good day for a walk, it was an even better day to walk and help raise funds for the MS Society of Canada.

The annual walk, which takes place across the country, raises funds in support of Multiple Sclerosis research and support for those who have the disease.

The Mandarin MS Walk, named for the main sponsor, took place locally on Sunday, May 6, in support of the Dufferin Peel chapter which includes Orangeville.

Around 100 people registered for the walk, a 5 kilometre route that started at Montgomery Village Public School in the west end of town.

Local businesses chipped in to support the event and contributed to keep people fed before and after the walk.

Orangeville Starbucks and Son of a Chef Bakery provided the breakfast. Pizzaville, a national sponsor, and M&M Meats provided pizza and hotdogs and hamburgers for lunch.

“Today’s walk is to raise funds and awareness for multiple sclerosis,” explained organizer Rebecca Scott Rawn. “The walk happens all across the country. There’s hundreds of locations happening right now. People are out walking to raise awareness about MS and raising millions of dollars. This is the Orangeville walk, specifically for Orangeville. There’s also a walk in Caledon as well. It’s a five kilometre walk. We have around 100 walking. There were 90, and more registered today so we probably have a few more than a hundred.”

Multiple Sclerosis is a disease that affects a lot of Canadians, In fact Canada has the highest rate of MS in the world, yet no one knows why.

Currently there is no cure or known cause, however some of the funds raised go to research to determine the cause and prevention.

“The money goes to the MS Society nationally,” Ms. Scott Rawn said. “Sixty per cent of the funds go to research. We do a lot of work on research here in Canada. The funds also go to services right here in the community – to support people in our community.

There’s also a local support group. I myself have MS so I use the MS society – I can contact them about any questions I have or any drug I have questions about. I can call them and they’ll help me out with that.”

The local walk was quite a success, bringing in $9,752 on the day of the walk. Online donations had brought in $38,497 leading up to the walk day.

They hope to break the $50,000 mark as people can still contribute online through to the end of the month.

The MS walk in Caledon raised $26,679.