While the final tally had not yet been counted by early Sunday afternoon, the 2016 Sudbury Mandarin MS Walk (sponsored by the restaurant chain of the same name) was already on track to surpass last year’s fundraising total of $20,000.
Natalie Labbee, the fundraising co-ordinator for MS Society’s Sudbury Manitoulin Chapter, said the goal for this year’s walk – the 17th in the chapter’s history – was to raise $35,000 to support multiple sclerosis research and programs and services for people living with multiple sclerosis (MS).
Hundreds of people walked down Bancroft Drive, starting at the MS Society’s Sudbury headquarters, to collect funds and raise awareness about MS.
MS is an unpredictable, often disabling disease of the central nervous system which is composed of the brain and spinal cord. The disease attacks the myelin, which is a protective covering wrapped around the nerves of the central nervous system.
Canada has the highest MS rate in the world, with around 100,000 people who have the disease. And Greater Sudbury Sudbury has the third highest number of people per capita living with the disease in Canada.
Labbee said Canadian researchers, like the Ottawa Hospital’s Dr. Mark Freedman, have made great strides towards a cure for MS. Freedman has worked on stem cell transplants that have shown a lot of promise.
There is also emerging research on drug therapies that are less harmful to a patient’s organs.
Denis Guillemette, who was diagnosed with MS 14 years ago, participated in Sunday’s walk with his family.
“It’s nice to see all the support,” he said.
Guillemette walked in memory of his brother Jacques, who died in January after a 25-year battle with MS.
He and his family raised $1,600 for the MS Society of Canada, and his team collected around $6,300.
Cory Reist also raised a sizeable amount of funds for MS research and support with help from his friends, family and clients.
Reist co-owns the Painful Addiction tattoo shop in downtown Sudbury with his wife Julie.
Julie was diagnosed with MS a year ago, and together they held a fundraiser at the shop and donated the proceeds from hope ribbon tattoos to the MS Society. They were able to raise $3,000.
