How did I come up with this idea?

First of all I just wanted to thank you for taking the time to read this letter and fitting me into your busy schedule.  I really appreciate it and I hope you become interested in the journey I’m about to take.  Ever since I was a young kid a dream of mine has always been to travel to all 30 Major League Baseball Stadiums.  I have always loved to play and watch the game of baseball and I knew that one day when I was done playing I wanted to make this dream become a reality.  With this being my last year of college at Southern Connecticut State University and potentially my last year playing competitive baseball I am pursuing this dream so I can take this once in a lifetime trip before I enter the real world.  I believe everyone should do something for themselves before taking the leap from college to the real world, and this is me doing just that.  I am lucky enough to have my family and friends be in full support of this dream so there is no holding back at this point.

 

As I began to think more and more about this trip I began to get increasingly more excited and ideas have just been flowing ever since I made this commitment to it.  It is going to be awesome to go on the trip, but I have also made a commitment to not only take this trip for my own personal goals, but I am going to be raising money for the Multiple Sclerosis Society while on this journey.  The reason I chose this organization is because my Grandmother, of whom I never met, suffered from MS for many years, and as does my cousin and my friend’s mother.  So as my friends and I begin to raise money for this trip, not only will we raise enough to actually go on the trip, but we will be raising money to be donated to the MS society as well.

 

As these thoughts and ideas starting coming to me, I began to take it even one step further and thought about how cool it would be to start my own non-profit organization in conjunction with the MS society after I take this personal trip.  The organization would be based on the trip I just took, but instead of me going on it again, we would be offering an all expenses paid trip to the MLB stadiums of the division of their choice.  The competition will be broken down into the 6 divisions of the Major Leagues, and every team will have an opportunity to sign up for one division that they hope to visit.  The team of 4 that raises the most money in each division will receive an all expenses paid trip to the stadiums of the division they chose.  We will fly each winning team out to a central headquarters where we will then drive them to each stadium over approximately a 2 week time period.  The money will be distributed as follows.  For example, if we get 100 teams of 4 across the country to sign up for our competition and every team raises 1,000, but one team in each division raises $5,000, then that team will win that region of the competition and receive an all expenses paid trip to the 4 or 5 major league baseball stadiums of the division they chose.  So after I go on the trip myself and I find out how much it costs for 4 people to go on this trip then that’s how much we will know needs to be allocated to the winners of each division for the next year.  So, if we raise $100,000 from the 100 teams that signed up for the competition, and we found out that it costs $40,000 to go on the trip, then $40,000 will be allocated to the winning team and the additional $60,000 will go towards the MS Society.

 

Also, when I go on this trip I plan on either having an auto dealer let us borrow a van or sell us one for cheap and then I plan on painting it orange with the MS 4 MS logo written on the side of it.  The reason for the orange van is simple, so we stand out.  Ironically, after visiting the MS Society’s website I later learned that their main color is orange as well.   However, not only we will be riding in an orange van, but we will be wearing orange hats, shirts, shorts, socks and shoes just so people can look at us and be like “why in the world are you guys wearing orange to a Rockies game where purple is the main color?”  From there we will tell them what we are doing, why we are doing it and then we will hand out business cards so they can go to our website and make donations if they would like to or they can read about information, as well as possibly signing up for the competition next year.  I already have a website purchased from godaddy.com and it is ms4ms.org.  It is being worked on as we speak and a rough draft will be ready very soon.  Our twitter account is already up and running so you can follow us at MS 4 MS.  Our Facebook page is in the process of being made and we just finished having a graphic designer work on our logo for the company in which you can see this logo on our twitter page and also at the top of this page.  In order to raise the initial money to go on this trip I already have some fundraising ideas that I am going to be putting into effect to raise money for the trip.  We will be holding little league clinics in my home town so we will be giving back to the community and raising money in the meantime.  Also, we will be holding a kick off banquet before we go on the trip where we will have a normal pay per plate, raffle and silent auction in order to raise even more money hopefully not only for our trip, but so we can donate a lot to the MS Society.

 

So, as you can see I am incredibly excited not only about this journey for myself, but I am looking forward to teaming up with the MS society to raise money and spread awareness for a great cause.  I also plan on next spring doing an internship with the MS Society out of Hartford, CT  where I will not only help out their organization, but I will gain their respect and hopefully have them jump on board with my idea and get their logo on my website.

 

You might now be asking yourself well where do I come in to play here?  In order to raise the initial money to get this business off the ground I need some corporate sponsors that can help my cause.  I am targeting businesses attached with sports in hopes that someone will like my idea enough to jump on board.  Also, in order to purchase my orange outfit I need a company to provide all that merchandise so anything you might be able to do for me in terms of that would be greatly appreciated.  All sponsors’ logos will go on the van we travel around in as well as on the backs of the orange shirts we will be wearing.  Thanks for your time and look forward to hearing from you soon.

 

Sam Greenberg

Founder and CEO

Samgreenberg@ms4ms.org

203-927-6830

What is Multiple Sclerosis?

What is Multiple Sclerosis?

An unpredictable disease of the central nervous system, multiple sclerosis (MS) can range from relatively benign to somewhat disabling to devastating, as communication between the brain and other parts of the body is disrupted.  Many investigators believe MS to be an autoimmune disease — one in which the body, through its immune system, launches a defensive attack against its own tissues. In the case of MS, it is the nerve-insulating myelin that comes under assault. Such assaults may be linked to an unknown environmental trigger, perhaps a virus.

Most people experience their first symptoms of MS between the ages of 20 and 40; the initial symptom of MS is often blurred or double vision, red-green color distortion, or even blindness in one eye.  Most MS patients experience muscle weakness in their extremities and difficulty with coordination and balance.  These symptoms may be severe enough to impair walking or even standing. In the worst cases, MS can produce partial or complete paralysis.  Most people with MS also exhibit paresthesias, transitory abnormal sensory feelings such as numbness, prickling, or “pins and needles” sensations.  Some may also experience pain.  Speech impediments, tremors, and dizziness are other frequent complaints. Occasionally, people with MS have hearing loss. Approximately half of all people with MS experience cognitive impairments such as difficulties with concentration, attention, memory, and poor judgment, but such symptoms are usually mild and are frequently overlooked.  Depression is another common feature of MS.

Is there any treatment?

There is as yet no cure for MS. Many patients do well with no therapy at all, especially since many medications have serious side effects and some carry significant risks.  However, three forms of beta interferon (Avonex, Betaseron, and Rebif) have now been approved by the Food and Drug Administration for treatment of relapsing-remitting MS. Beta interferon has been shown to reduce the number of exacerbations and may slow the progression of physical disability. When attacks do occur, they tend to be shorter and less severe.  The FDA also has approved a synthetic form of myelin basic protein, called copolymer I (Copaxone), for the treatment of relapsing-remitting MS. Copolymer I has few side effects, and studies indicate that the agent can reduce the relapse rate by almost one third. An immunosuppressant treatment, Novantrone(mitoxantrone), is approved by the FDA for the treatment of advanced or chronic MS.  The FDA has also approved dalfampridine (Ampyra) to improve walking in individuals with MS.

One monoclonal antibody, natalizumab (Tysabri), was shown in clinical trials to significantly reduce the frequency of attacks in people with relapsing forms of MS and was approved for marketing by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) in 2004.  However, in 2005 the drug’s manufacturer voluntarily suspended marketing of the drug after several reports of significant adverse events.  In 2006, the FDA again approved sale of the drug for MS but under strict treatment guidelines involving infusion centers where patients can be monitored by specially trained physicians.

While steroids do not affect the course of MS over time, they can reduce the duration and severity of attacks in some patients.  Spasticity, which can occur either as a sustained stiffness caused by increased muscle tone or as spasms that come and go, is usually treated with muscle relaxants and tranquilizers such as baclofen, tizanidine, diazepam, clonazepam, and dantrolene. Physical therapy and exercise can help preserve remaining function, and patients may find that various aids — such as foot braces, canes, and walkers — can help them remain independent and mobile.  Avoiding excessive activity and avoiding heat are probably the most important measures patients can take to counter physiological fatigue.  If psychological symptoms of fatigue such as depression or apathy are evident, antidepressant medications may help.  Other drugs that may reduce fatigue in some, but not all, patients include amantadine (Symmetrel), pemoline (Cylert), and the still-experimental drug aminopyridine. Although improvement of optic symptoms usually occurs even without treatment, a short course of treatment with intravenous methylprednisolone (Solu-Medrol) followed by treatment with oral steroids is sometimes used.

What is the prognosis?

A physician may diagnose MS in some patients soon after the onset of the illness. In others, however, doctors may not be able to readily identify the cause of the symptoms, leading to years of uncertainty and multiple diagnoses punctuated by baffling symptoms that mysteriously wax and wane.  The vast majority of patients are mildly affected, but in the worst cases, MS can render a person unable to write, speak, or walk.  MS is a disease with a natural tendency to remit spontaneously, for which there is no universally effective treatment.

What research is being done?

The National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke (NINDS) and other institutes of the National Institutes of Health (NIH) conduct research in laboratories at the NIH and also support additional research through grants to major medical institutions across the country.  Scientists continue their extensive efforts to create new and better therapies for MS.  One of the most promising MS research areas involves naturally occurring antiviral proteins known as interferons. Beta interferon has been shown to reduce the number of exacerbations and may slow the progression of physical disability. When attacks do occur, they tend to be shorter and less severe.  In addition, there are a number of treatments under investigation that may curtail attacks or improve function.  Over a dozen clinical trials testing potential therapies are underway, and additional new treatments are being devised and tested in animal models.

In 2001, the National Academies/Institute of Medicine, a Federal technical and scientific advisory agency, prepared a strategic review of MS research. To read or download the National Academies/Institute of Medicine report, go to: “Multiple Sclerosis: Current Status and Strategies for the Future.”

Source:

http://www.ninds.nih.gov

What is MS4MS?

Mission Statement:  Our goal is to raise money and spread awareness for Multiple Sclerosis while providing kids and adults across America the opportunity to win a once in a lifetime trip to travel to all Major League Baseball stadiums in the division of their choice.

General Description:  Mission Stadiums for Multiple Sclerosis (MS4MS) is a non-profit organization whose mission is to help spread awareness and raise money for Multiple Sclerosis. In doing so, MS4MS helps to fulfill peoples’ dreams by offering a competition style fundraiser to individuals of all ages.

Every team must consist of at least four members regardless of age or gender, and the teams are limitted to 6 people. There is a $10 registration fee for each member and one of the members must be over the age of twenty one. The top-raising team in each division will receive an all expenses paid trip to travel the country and visit the baseball stadiums of the division they decided to participate in.

If there is a tie between teams at the end of the competition, there will be a one week playoff where it is winner take all. Whoever raises the most amount of money in the one week playoff, that team will ultimately win their division of the competition and be on their way to a once in a lifetime trip to visit MLB stadiums!

Each team is only allowed to enter one division at a time that the competition is being held. A portion of the money raised will be allocated to the trips expenses for the winning teams and the additional money raised will be donated to the Multiple Sclerosis Society in order to help those who are already effected by this brutal disease. Money from the competition will help with medical bills and anything else that people with MS have to deal with, on top of just battling the disease.

If you could visit one stadium in the American League East, what would it be???

MS4MS articles in the paper

Please check out all the MS4MS articles that have been written in several  papers across the state in just 5 months!  All the links to the articles are listed on the right side of this blog page.  Enjoy!

Welcome to MS4MS!!!

Welcome to the official blog of MS4MS (Missions Stadiums for Multiple Sclerosis)!

Here is where we will keep you up to date on everything MS4MS, including newest information about the organization, recent articles in the paper and any upcoming events held by MS4MS.  While our website, ms4ms.org, is under construction, this blog site will be our main outlet to the public to keep everyone up to date on everything about MS4MS.  So please enjoy this site and follow us as this Non-Profit Organization hopes to help millions who suffer with Multiple Sclerosis!