Walk MS 2011 Registration is Now Open!!!

Miss us already?  Well, we certainly missed you!  That's why we are so excited to announce the official opening of registration for Walk MS 2011!  Check out the Walk MS website to register.  If you need a reminder on why you should register, look through the Walk MS 2010 Weekend in Review. 
They say the early bird gets the worm: this is your chance to get an early start on building a great walk team and fundraising more than you have in any previous year.  What would you like to accomplish in 2011?  Have a new recruitment or fundraising goal in mind?  Want to host more community events?  Take a look at the Walk MS Team Captain's Kit.  As we prepare to release the official 2011 Captain's Kit, we encourage you to browse through last year's kit, an excellent resource for everything you need to get off to a great start.

Finally, if you don't know that you'll be able to make it til April without partnering with the National MS Society, you could register for this September's Capital Challenge Walk MS 2011, a two-day, 50k walkathon through Virginia and the District.  The walk will challenge you; the event will change you!

Remember, if you ever need to contact us, feel free to email us at Teams@MSandYOU.org, or call anytime: 202-296-5363, option 2.

Walk on!

Fundraising Week May 10-14

Who doesn't love a delicious bowl of noodles from our friends at Noodles & Co.? The first 150 Walk MS participants who raise $25 online between Monday, May 10 at 12:01 a.m. and Friday, May 14 at 11:59 p.m. will win a free meal at Noodles & Co.!

Walk MS participants have until May 28 to continue to turn in funds and be eligible for fantastic prizes!  Here's how you can continue to support the mission of the National MS Society with your Walk MS fundraising:

• Follow-up with your potential donors who said, 'I'll donate soon,' or 'Remind me later.' Now is the time to send them your Walk MS Personal Page link and convince them to donate NOW!
• Update your Personal Page blog! Write about the team spirit, the perfect weather and how great it was to see hundreds (thousands!) of people united to create a world free of MS at Walk MS.  Then, email your friends and family the link to your page so they can read all about it.  They might just surprise you and donate again!
• Post pictures from Walk MS and, you guessed it, send out that link!  The more people visit your Personal Page, the more likely they are to donate.

The fine print: Each registered Walk MS participant can only win once.  The $25 must be raised between Monday, May 10 at 12:01 a.m. and Friday, May 14 at 11:59 p.m. online. An e-mail update will be sent to all registered Walk MS fundraisers on Thursday, May 13 with a list of up-to-the-minute winners, and the final list of winners will be e-mailed on Monday, May 17.

Thanks and GOOD LUCK!

Fundraising Deadline May 28th

We're in the home stretch!  Walk MS 2010 total fundraising has already passed ONE MILLION DOLLARS and we're not done yet!  You still have until May 28th to turn in donations for Walk MS 2010.  To help you with some last minute fundraising ideas, here is a special note from Team Captain Bronwen Blass of the Blasskickers, an Elite Feet Top Fundraising Team:

1.) Speak to your HR Dept to see if your company matches charitable contributions. If so, this alone could double your personal donation!

2.) Have a bake sale to reach your goal. People love baked goods and are definitely willing to shell out a few bucks to buy them, particularly if it's for a good cause. So bake up (or even buy!) some cookies, brownies, muffins, whatever you like to make/bring. Set them up with a little sign featuring picture of you and your team at Walk MS and you're in business!

3.) Put a jar and a sign at your desk advertising that you participated in Walk MS and requesting donations. That way, people will know you're supporting the MS Society without you even saying a word and can feel free to support your efforts! You probably have a co-worker who knows someone with MS too and would welcome the opportunity to contribute.

4.) You see and talk to your friends and co-workers all the time. If you give them a chance they’ll probably start the conversation. Picture it: You’re standing out the office coffee maker and your co-worker asks what you've been up to lately . . . Your friend give you a call to catch up . . . BOOM! That’s your opening - let them know you participated in Walk MS and would love to have their support. It could be the most lucrative cup of coffee you’ve ever had at your office!

Thanks to Browen for sharing her tried and true fundraising ideas! If you need help reaching you goal or want to brainstorm about Walk MS fundraising, call the Chapter at 202.296.5363, option 2 or contact Teams@MSandYOU.org.

Say Cheese!

Each Walk MS site will have a Team Photo area where you are your team can show off those pearly whites along with your orange flair!  We will have volunteer photographers on site to take your team's picture, and they will be available on the Walk MS web site after the event.  Pictures will be taken on a first-come, first-served basis during the check-in time (which differs by site,
 check here for those details), so is it up to the Team Captain to communicate a meeting time to the team members. 

Bring props, banners, signs and flair with you for your photo!  These make a great addition to thank-you notes to donors and supports after Walk MS. 

Guest Post: Team Captain Elizabeth Bradley

My name is Elizabeth Bradley, I am the Team Captain for EB's Bunch at Walk MS Manassas. I volunteer once a week in National Capital Chapter office and I participated in my first Walk MS in 2003 as a volunteer about a month after I was diagnosed with MS. The next year I started a team and we have walked at the Manassas site since then. Every year my team has gotten a little bigger. Last year we had 41 team members and my goal this year is 53! I increased my team size goal because our Chapter's goal is to have 8,000 people at Walk MS this year - our largest ever!  My team's fundraising goal is $10,000 and every team member who raises at least $30 gets an EB's Bunch t-shirt.

2 1/2 weeks to go! I'm in the final stages of getting my team ready for Walk MS 2010. Last week I ordered the t-shirts -- orange, of course. I also sent my team an email updating them on how many teammates we currently have registered (42) and how much money we have rasied thus far ($4,640). There is still a lot to do in these last couple of weeks, and the Chapter staff is here to help us Team Captains. Visit the Team Captains' Kit here and download the Team Timeline for a final list to help you prepare for a fantastic Walk MS! If you will be participating in Manassas, look for the orange EB's Bunch t-shirts and say 'Hi!' I'd love to meet you :)

Walk On,
Elizabeth 'EB' Bradley

Team Tent Village: Be There!

Walk MS Teams, consider this your formal invitation to the biggest and best party that Walk MS has ever seen: The Team Tent Village! We know how hard you and your team members work year-round recruiting and fundraising for Walk MS. You motivate each other to cross the finish line and you are helping to create a world free of MS through your tireless efforts as fundraisers.  Think of the Tent Village like a giant pat on the back for your team to tell them, ‘Well done!”

Tent Village is THE place to be at Walk MS! Each participating team can bring their own tent (up to a 12x12 size) or win the chance to borrow ours by competing in Team Week. Each team will have a designated space to set up their team tent. After that, the possibilities are endless! Teams can get donations of food for their team, pick a theme and decorate, set-up games and activities and much more.

If you're interested in finding out more or reserving your spot today, contact Teams@MSandYOU.org today!

Team Fundraising Week March 22-26

Five Days. Three winners. One Challenge. All Week to Win.

March 22-26 will be a special Team Fundraising Week with prizes for teams that raise funds for Walk MS presented by Booz Allen Hamilton. Your challenge: Be one of the top three teams at each Walk MS site who raise the most in online donations from March 22-26 to win fabulous prizes! Prizes will vary by site, but will include: your very own tent for the day in the Team Tent Village, National MS Society merchandise, and gift certificates to Visions Restaurant of Bethesda, Crate & Barrel, Subway, Mama Lucia and more!

Walk MS is the rallying point of the MS movement; it's a community coming together to raise funds and celebrate hope for the future. Thank you for being a part of it and empowering your team to rise to the challenge!

The fine print: Only online donations that occur between 12:01 a.m. on Monday, March 22 and 11:59 p.m. on Friday, March 26 will qualify toward Team Fundraising Week prizes. Your team must also have the minimum 4 team members required to be an official team by midnight on Friday the 26th.

Contact us if you need any help! Teams@MSandYOU.org

St. Patrick's Day Challenge

Recruit to win a pot of gold! Let's meet our goal of 8,000 Walk MS participants

We are asking YOU to help us recruit your friends, family, colleagues to help us make this year's Walk MS the biggest yet! If you recruit a new Walk MS walker or volunteer, we may reward each of you with a $100 Crate & Barrel gift certificate (isn't that better than a pot of gold?).

The details:
Recruit a new registrant (someone not currently registered) between now and the end of St. Patrick's Day (Wednesday, March 17) and if both of you have raised at least $50 online by April Fool's Day (Thursday, April 1), we'll enter both of you into a raffle to win two $100 Crate & Barrel gift certificates (one for each of you). The more you recruit, the better your chance of winning!

Feeling lucky? Then get moving! Registration is open at www.MSandYOU.org/walk  

The fine print:
To be eligible, the new Walk MS registrant must register for Walk MS between now and 11:59 p.m. on Wednesday, March 17. The new registrant must list one current registrant as the person who recruited them when they register. Both the new registrant and the current registrant recruiter must have at least $50 raised online by 11:59 p.m. on Thursday, April 1 to be eligible. The winning pair will be drawn at random and each will receive a $100 gift certificate to Crate & Barrel. Current registrants can recruit an unlimited number of new registrants. When a new registrant registers, they may only list one current registrant as their recruiter. Winners will be announced on the Walk MS Participant Center homepage on April 2.

Happy St. Patrick's Day! Let's make it memorable by moving closer to a world free of MS.

Happy MS Awareness Week!

National MS Awareness Week is this week, March 7-13, 2010.  Want to spread the word about multiple sclerosis and the National MS Society?  Visit this site for great tips on how to get involved, spread the word and advocate on behalf of those living with MS. It's all right there at your fingertips, so 'move it' for MS Awareness Week!

Bottoms Up for Walk MS!

Caroline's Karma Crew is hosting a happy hour fundraiser on Friday, March 19th in Bethesda to benefit Walk MS 2010! Click here for more details and to view the event flier that you can pass along to friends and family.

If you can't make it to the happy hour, but want to support Caroline's Karma Crew, visit their Team Page here.

If you and/or your team is hosting a fundraiser for Walk MS, let us know!  We'd be happy to share the details.

Walk On!

Walk MS Team Week: Go For the Gold!

Thank you for helping make Team Week a huge success! Together we recruited 400+ new MS Olympians in the last week of February! These teams completed an Olympic feat, and the medal podium is theirs to share. Here are the final results:

Most Team Members Registered

Gold: The A-Team takes home gold with 43 new team members!
Silver: MOM Team wins the silver with 30 new team members!

Bronze: ECPI- Eagles in Flight earn the bronze by registering 19 new members!

Highest Percentage Increase in Team Members

Gold: MOM Team increased an astounding 600% and takes home gold!

Silver: The A-Team wins silver with a 538% increase!

Bronze: Blasskickers medals in bronze with a 300% increase!

Check out the prizes here. Whether your team took home a 'medal' or not, you are still an MS Olympian! Those 400+ new Walk MS participants are the total of ALL teams' recruitment efforts. Congratulations to everyone! Mark your calendars for March 22-26, when our second Walk MS Team Week of the year will take place.


Just because Team Week is over doesn't mean you can't continue recruiting! We still want to reach our goal of having the largest Walk MS EVER at the National Capitol Chapter with 8,000 participants!

We're so glad you stopped by

Thanks for taking a few valuable minutes of your day to learn more about Walk MS and hopefully share your thoughts, experiences and ideas with your fellow (and potential!) Walk MS participants.

This is a place where everyone- walkers, volunteers, team captains, donors, supporters and even curious passers-by -can learn more about Walk MS not only from the National Capital Staff, but from each other.  Want to author a guest post?  Let us know! Have a 'picture's-worth-a-thousand-words' photo from a previous Walk MS or team event? Share it! You can always reply to threads on the blog, or send them directly to Teams@MSandYOU.org for us to post. 

Le'ts start with something simple: What's your favorite memory from Walk MS?