Booz Allen Hamilton Returns as Presenting Sponsor for Walk MS 2010
Press Release from the National Multiple Sclerosis Society, National Capital Chapter
WASHINGTON, D.C., October 19, 2009 – Booz Allen Hamilton has teamed up with the National Multiple Sclerosis Society, National Capital Chapter as the presenting sponsor of the 2010 Walk MS presented by Booz Allen Hamilton on Saturday, April 10, Sunday, April 11, and Saturday, April 17, 2010. More than 6,500 walkers and hundreds of volunteers are expected to participate during the course of the annual event, which is expected to raise over one million dollars to support the National MS Society and the movement to end MS.
Booz Allen Hamilton has participated in Walk MS since 1994, serving as the presenting sponsor in 2007, 2008, and 2009. The company has played an integral role in other National Capital Chapter events, including Bike MS, Capital Challenge Walk MS, and the Ambassadors Ball, logging countless volunteer hours, raising critical funds, and engaging more than 100 Booz Allen Hamilton employees and family members each year.
“Booz Allen Hamilton has been a valued member of the National MS Society, National Capital Chapter family,” J. Christopher Broullire, President of the National Capital Chapter of the National MS Society, said. “Without their crucial support over the past 15 years, Walk MS would not be the success it is today in raising funds and awareness in the movement to end MS.”
Walk MS offers six routes across the Washington, D.C. metropolitan area: in Manassas, VA, Rockville, MD, and Waldorf, MD on April 10; Bowie, MD and Reston, MD on April 11; and Washington, D.C on April 17. Mileage varies by site, ranging from three to six miles. All routes feature rest stops, support vehicles for those who need assistance with the walk, and fully catered lunch celebrations at the finish lines.
"Our sponsorship of Walk MS has been just one more way we have enjoyed partnering with the MS Society over the past few years,” Joseph Suarez, Director of Community Relations for Booz Allen Hamilton said. “We are grateful for the inordinate amount of time, energy, and effort the MS Society has given to engage and inspire our volunteers to continue to make a difference in our community."
Walkers and volunteers may participate individually or as members of a team. All registrants are provided with a variety of fundraising tools. Walkers who raise at least $125 receive a commemorative t-shirt, and those who raise more may be eligible to earn other prizes.
Those interested in participating or volunteering with the Walk MS 2010 presented by Booz Allen Hamilton can discover more information and sign up at MSandYOU.org/walk.
About Multiple Sclerosis
Multiple sclerosis interrupts the flow of information from the brain to the body and stops people from moving. Every hour in the United States, someone is newly diagnosed with MS, an unpredictable, often disabling disease of the central nervous system. 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 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 more than 400,000 people in the U.S., and 2.5 million worldwide.
Studies show that early and ongoing treatment with an FDA-approved therapy can reduce future disease activity and improve quality of life for many people with multiple sclerosis. Talk to your health care professional and contact the National MS Society at www.MSandYOU.org or (202) 296-5363 to learn about ways to help manage multiple sclerosis and about current research that may one day reveal a cure.
About the National Multiple Sclerosis Society
MS stops people from moving. The National MS Society exists to make sure it doesn’t. Locally, the National Capital Chapter provides a wide range of vital services in the areas of counseling, education, employment, information and referral, public policy development and advocacy, and financial assistance to the many thousands of people with MS and their families who live in the Washington, D.C. metropolitan area. For more information about MS or the National Capital Chapter, please call (202) 296-5363 or visit www.MSandYOU.org.
