I had the pleasure of participating in (and raising funds for) what I think is one of the greatest charities ever...The National Multiple Sclerosis Society .
Ok, I may be a little biased because I myself have Multiple Sclerosis (MS). I was diagnosed with MS in March 2004 and the MS Society has been an essential part of my life ever since.
This charity is one that is near and dear to my heart because we all have the same goal in mind: WE WANT TO FIND A CURE FOR MS. We don’t want anyone to spend another day of their life wondering when they wake up in the morning if they’ll be able to stand, walk, talk, see, etc., or have to cope with one of the many other various symptoms of MS.
On that fine day in April, I had a group of family, friends and wonderful co-workers team up with me and walk to raise money for this great cause. It was by far the largest team I’ve had since I started doing this 4 years ago. Our team was of course the best.
My company helped me come up with a team name and design a t-shirt. Our team name was “Denise’s Wise Guys” and our team motto was “We’re Snuffin Out MS.”
We met up at the Kansas Speedway wearing our red and white Wise Guys t-shirts. We loaded up on tons of free goodies from the various vendors and sponsors. Food and drinks were plentiful but the best of all was the free COFFEE! I know all too well how my company feels about coffee at work. There’s never enough!
The day of the walk, there were hundreds if not thousands of people made up of all shapes, sizes, genders, and ethnicities. I love events like this because illnesses like MS don’t discriminate. It doesn’t matter who you are or what you look like.
The walk is a time where people with a common cause come together. Some people were there to walk for themselves, and many were there to support someone else who has MS.
The funniest thing about the whole day was when we made it to the finals for the best t-shirt contest. The only catch was that in order to narrow down who was going to win they made the teams have a dance contest. I was so terrified because I don’t dance and I can’t dance. My worst nightmare was coming true. It made me think of the line in the book A Tale of Two Cities... “It was the best of times, it was the worst of times……”
Needless to say we all got up there and made total fools of ourselves. The main point is we all did it together and we knew we weren’t in it alone.
We didn’t necessarily come out on top but we were all winners anyway. Plus all finalists were given free concert tickets compliments of the radio station that was there!
All in all, the day went pretty well. We started the walk at 10:30. Some people walked one mile and others did three miles. It was a great time. Bonds were formed and friends were made, but most importantly, money was raised.
Together Denise’s Wise Guys raised a grand total of (drum roll please) $915.00. Thank you First Business Bank, family and friends for all of your support. Together we can do anything!!!
