Walk MS: Raising Advocacy Awareness

MS Activists at our booth in Seattle

This year’s Walk MS events in Washington were a smashing success! We estimate that nearly 9,000 people from across the state participated in Walk MS to connect, learn, and fundraise to move towards a world free of MS.

We were proud to host advocacy booths this year at the Bainbridge and Seattle Walks. Thank you to MS activists Bill, Holly, and Karl for engaging Walk MS participants in those locations, and to Lisa, who was instrumental in running the new Community Tent in South Sound, where participants could get information about Society resources and programs. Thanks to their efforts, we were able to sign up an additional 25 people for our MS Activist Network!

In addition, we invited Walk MS participants to consider the ways that our elected officials can make a difference for people affected by MS. As in past years, we conducted a poll and encouraged people to vote for the issue they care about. Our question was, “What’s the most important thing politicians could be doing to help people living with MS?” Nearly 200 people voted in our poll, and here are the results:

Although support for family caregivers through respite care had the most votes, many expressed strong support for home modifications and accessible transportation as well. Thank you to all of our MS activists who came out to Walk MS to raise awareness about the Society’s advocacy work. Way to go team!