Raising Money and Awareness for the National MS Society

Hi Everyone.

I know I usually write about silly things, and the times they're not silly they're typically not made up of much more than self-involved prattle, but for once I thought I should post about something a little more important than that.

My friend Annie is doing a 150 mile bike ride in Colorado to raise awareness and funds for the National Multiple Sclerosis Society. Her life has been directly affected by MS.

In Northern Colorado, estimates are that almost one in every 1,000 people has Multiple Sclerosis. That's pretty staggering, given that there is no defined cause, no cure, an incredible array of symptoms, and no universal treatment.

I know that my readership is small, but I also know that it's full of good people who are willing to help out if they can. So I'm asking two things:

1) If you've got a couple of extra dollars or more in your budget this month, please condiser donating here. If you don't, you don't. No worries. These are trying economic times.

2) Whether you're able to donate or not, please send this off to some people you know and ask them to do the same. Even if we raise awareness, that's good enough for me. Use the "Email Post" button at the bottom of this post, or copy and paste the URL (http://cameronomicon.blogspot.com/2009/06/raising-money-and-awareness-for.html) into an email. If you're not the mass emailing type (I can relate) mention this post on your blog or twitter or facebook page. Just please help get the word out.

Now, those of you who know me know that I don't often jump on bandwagons, and I'm not the fundraising type. But I believe this is important and I'd feel remiss if I didn't ask you all to take a look and pass it on.

I've included the email that Annie had put together, which has some good info and links to some really great sites to check out.

Thank you all for your time.

About the Ride

On June 27-28, 2009 I will be cycling in the 24^th Annual Colorado Bike MS Ride. This challenging weekend ride is 150 miles from the Denver area to Ft. Collins and back. This ride is hosted by the Colorado Chapter of the National MS Society and proceeds from the event go towards freeing the world of MS.

Why I Ride

I’ve registered for the Colorado Bike MS ride to fulfill a personal challenge to help people with MS and their families lead powerful lives and help the National MS Society fund research.

Every hour in the United States someone is newly diagnosed with multiple sclerosis. MS generally strikes in the prime of life and 73% of those diagnosed are women. In additional to those scary statistics, Colorado has one of the highest prevalence rates of MS in the country!

As you know, my family has been directly impacted by MS.

Jennifer Sobey, Trieva Ikenouye, Annie McFarland

That day I will ride for:

Jennifer Soeby

Lost her battle with MS

1980-2007

Trieva Ikenouye

Diagnosed with MS

2009

Please Join Me in the movement to do something about MS now with your donation, even a $5 donation will help me reach my fundraising goal of $2000. To make a donation people visit my personal Bike MS 150 website at http://main.nationalmssociety.org/goto/amcfarland. If you would like to donate via check (make it out to “NMSS Colorado Chapter”) or cash (I’ll send you a receipt), please send it to:

Annie McFarland *email Cameron for the address*

To learn more about MS please visit the National Multiple Sclerosis website