The Eastern North Carolina Chapter of Multiple Sclerosis offers tips to organize teams during the May 3 event. Each team will consists of a captain and three or more group members.

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National MS Society Offers Tips for Starting Workplace TeamsCompanies Encouraged to Participate in Fundraising Event and Increase Corporate Visibility RALEIGH, N.C. (April 14, 2008) — The Eastern North Carolina Chapter of the National Multiple Sclerosis Society offers tips for starting workplace teams for participation in the 2008 Walk MS event to be held on May 3. A team consists of a captain and at least three additional team members, and there is no cost to start a team. “Walk MS is not only a great opportunity to raise funds for MS research, programs, and services, it also builds corporate team unity and increases company visibility,” says Bethany Coggins, special events manager with the Eastern North Carolina Chapter of the National Multiple Sclerosis Society.  Below are four tips for organizing a Corporate Walk MS team: v      Identify a captain and a team name. The team captain serves as the team focal point for recruiting and motivating team members.v      Don’t limit your recruits. Teams are generally classified as corporate (meaning that they are representing a company or organization) or friends and family, but companies are free to recruit from many areas. Some of the best corporate teams consist of company members and their families and friends.v      Find a walking buddy! Walk MS provides a common goal for team members to rally around. A team provides great motivation to reach a personal fitness goal while enjoying time with others.v      Utilize online fundraising tools. Walk MS participants have access to great online tools that team members can use to register, request and track donations, as well as monitor progress. Teams can also build a Web site and send e-mails tailored to help with recruitment, organization and fundraising. In 2007, 280 teams participated and team members raised 81% of the Walk MS fundraising total of $731,776. For more information on forming a corporate team, visit walknct.nationalmssociety.org, or call 1-800 FIGHT MS. 

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.  

About the National Multiple Sclerosis Society: MS stops people from moving. The National MS Society exists to make sure it doesn’t. We help each person address the challenges of living with MS.  Each year, through our home office and 50-state network of chapters, we devote approximately $125 million to programs and services that enhance more than one million lives to move us closer to a world free of MS. In 2007, the Society invested more than $46 million to support 440 research projects around the world. We are people who want to do something about MS NOW. If you or someone you know has MS, please contact the National MS Society today at www.nationalmssociety.org or 1-800 FIGHT MS to learn about ways to help manage multiple sclerosis and about current research that may one day reveal a cure. ###