Whitehorse Daily Star

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Photo by Marissa Tiel

MILLENNIUM FALCON – Blue Jones, 3, catches a ride on her father Jeremy’s shoulders during the MS Walk along Millennium Pathway in Whitehorse on Sunday.

MS Walk raises funds, awareness during annual event

About 70 people took part in the MS Walk yesterday at Rotary Peace Park.

By Marissa Tiel on May 16, 2016

About 70 people took part in the MS Walk yesterday at Rotary Peace Park.

For the multiple sclerosis community, Sunday’s walk is not just about raising money, it’s a showing of support and raising awareness for a disease that affects more than 100,000 Canadians.

Event organizer Cecilia Twigge has helped with the event for the past three years. This year was her first time running the show.

“It’s a big fundraiser, but it’s also about showing a sense of community,” she said. “Just to show that we have people that support us, it gives a good sense of hope.”

Twigge started volunteering with the MS Walk because she has MS herself.

MS is thought to be an auto-immune disease that affects the central nervous system. Researchers are working on a cure.

About 18 MS walks took place yesterday across the Yukon and B.C.

The Whitehorse edition started off at Rotary Peace Park and walkers wound their way around town on the Millennium Trail with noisemakers and sidewalk chalk.

Kids skipped along, pausing occasionally to write messages like “Stop MS,” while others shared with passersby what the walk represented.

Robyn Tripp-Friesen has been taking part in the MS Walk since its earliest years.

“It’s more about awareness than raising money,” said Tripp-Friesen, who has MS. “MS is a big thing in Canada. It’s a big issue that needs to be addressed.”

According to a report by the MS International Federation, Canada has the highest rate of the disease in the world.

This year both the start and finish were at Rotary Peace Park, which made for a more accessible walk.

As participants finished the walk, they were greeted by a barbecue, the musical talents of Kevin Barr, and face painting. The children’s literacy centre had also set up a reading nook in the shade of a tree.

This year the walk raised $6,995 at the park alone. Online sums are still being totalled.

Comments (1)

Up 1 Down 0

Tracy Rutledge on May 16, 2016 at 7:10 pm

Great job Ceci!!! And everyone involved =D

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