MS Walk exceeds goals despite weather forecast

April 08, 2000|By JULIE E. GREENE

ANTIETAM NATIONAL BATTLEFIELD - Organizers of the area's eighth annual Multiple Sclerosis Walk said the event exceeded its goals for fund-raising and participants Saturday despite forecasts of rain that probably kept some walkers home.

Some 381 walkers turned out to help raise $45,000, surpassing the goals of 200 walkers and $27,000, said MS Walk organizer Cheryl Scrivener.

Scrivener said 509 people had preregistered for the 6-mile walk, held for the first time at Antietam National Battlefield.

"We were really excited the weather held off," Scrivener said. The rain didn't start until about 2 p.m. after the walk had ended.

Of the $45,000 raised, approximately $18,000 will stay in Washington County to help people with multiple sclerosis, Scrivener said. The local money will help pay for such services as transportation and equipment loans.

Approximately $27,000 will go to research, said Scrivener, 35, of Hagerstown.

She said the $45,000 does not include anticipated corporate donations.

Previously, the walk was held at City Park and downtown Hagerstown, said Scrivener, whose family founded the Hagerstown walk site and was named a MS Family of the Year by the Maryland chapter in the mid-1990s. She expects the event will be held at Antietam again next year.

Citicorp was the event's main sponsor. Domino's Pizza in Shepherdstown, W.Va., donated lunch, and Hadley Farms, of Smithsburg, and Hostess provided breakfast. Other sponsors included Leiters Catering and AC&T.

Multiple sclerosis is a chronic, debilitating illness that affects the central nervous system, said Scrivener, whose husband has MS.

For more information, visit the National Multiple Sclerosis Society's web site at www.nmss.org or call 1-800-FIGHT-MS.

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