If you purchase items through the MS Challenge Walk Spreadshirt.com store, 20% of the proceeds will be donated to the National MS Society.

The items can be fully customized with your team's name, the MS Challenge Walk logo, or any other design you wish to upload.

Please contact us if you have any questions!

Danielle is a Development Coordinator for the Greater New England Chapter of the National MS Society. Prior to joining the staff at the National MS Society, she served as a crew team captain during the 2009 and 2010 MS Challenge Walks.

If you order merchandise between July 13 and 20, use coupon code CHALLENGE (case-sensitive!) during checkout to receive 15% off the orders. Spreadshirt will still donate 20% of the pre-discount price.

Looking good while raising funds has never been so easy!

Danielle is a Development Coordinator for the Greater New England Chapter of the National MS Society. Prior to joining the staff at the National MS Society, she served as a crew team captain during the 2009 and 2010 MS Challenge Walks.

It is truly amazing that this year will be the 10th Annual MS Challenge Walk! Because of you, we have raised over $11.5 million towards a cure. Although we will be celebrating this incredible achievement at the MS Challenge Walk on September 9–11, 2011, our friends and family still need us to once again join forces and continue the movement towards a world free of MS.

I am constantly moved by your commitment to our cause and honored by the the new friends made during my involvement as a participant in the annual MS Challenge Walk. As leaders, the future growth of this event begins with us.

As ambassadors for the Walk, recruiting new teams and team members remains critical in moving forward. Advancing the network through recruitment and coaching our team members is equally important as raising the money that you all do individually. More walkers mean more revenue for our cause and we can never afford to lose momentum. To help our teams recruit, our chapter would like to offer a special discount code for team captains to pass along to team members. This discount code will entitle the team member to $25 off the $75 registration fee when registering for the MS Challenge Walk on our Web site.

Please use and share this discount code: TEAM25

Your success is our team success and our success helps the individuals and families living with MS in Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, and Vermont. Just this year, there have been three new medications approved for the treatment of multiple sclerosis by the U.S. Food & Drug Administration, including the first oral disease modifying MS therapy.

I want to personally thank you for your past participation in the MS Challenge Walk and affording me the opportunity to participate — my family remains grateful. With each step you and your team members take and each dollar you raise, you truly propel promising research that will ultimately lead to a world free of MS.

Feel free to contact Kara Kelley or me via email or at 978-314-2338 for any information or assistance that you need to help in growing your team.

Thanks,
Kevin Lombardi
MS Challenge Walk Steering Committee Member
Team Co-Captain,
The Lombardi Party

Kevin lives on the North Shore with his family. He first walked in 2005 to honor his brother's battle with MS. In 2006, he created the Lombardi Party Challenge Walk Team. Today, he is the co-captain of the team and walks in memory of his mother, Carmella, who was also afflicted by the disease. This year will be his sixth MS Challenge Walk.

This past spring, William signed up to do one of the one-day walks as a walker. My husband and I felt that this was his endeavor, so we let him take the lead on what he wanted to do for his fundraising. Since he watches us put on fundraisers to raise money for the Challenge Walk, I don't think he completely understands that we also ask people for donations.

To raise money for his walk, William wanted to sell something. We took a trip to our local craft shop and purchased a large box of beads and some nylon thread so he could make bracelets. He made all kinds of wonderful variations, being careful that each one was different. The bracelets were made in two sizes to fit kids through adults. We bagged each one in a snack-size bag with a label stating what the money was for and that they were hand crafted by William himself — then off he went!

William first hit up the neighborhood, then the family (aunts, uncles, cousins, and grandparents are always interested in something made by a child!). On that Sunday morning, he brought his merchandise to church; between coffee hour and the parking lot, he sold out! I don't think one person he approached said no, though of course, he only asked the people he knew. He also brought them to school and sold a few to his teacher.

The bracelets were sold for just a dollar, but many people gave more. Though this task's main purpose was to raise money for the walk, I think it taught all involved a good lesson. William put his heart into those bracelets, and he was as proud as could be each time one was purchased… although probably not as proud as his mom!

So, get the kids involved in any small way possible. Kids love to help and want to do something but may not ask. As William says which we ironed it onto his t-shirt, "I help MS!" He certainly does help in more ways than he knows!

Wendy, the captain of Team WWW (Walk With Wendy), was diagnosed with MS in 2006.  Although she cut down on her work hours during the past year, she still loves her job as a teacher.  Wendy lives in Attleboro, MA, with her supportive husband and 9-year-old son, who provides inspiration for her daily!

First, I spend a lot more time talking with my teammates due to planning and such, which to me is a bonus in all of this. Would we be talking this much if not for a common thread? Our lives, like everyone's, are busy ones, and sometimes we don't take the time to talk like we should.

Second, I've met people that I wouldn't have had a chance to meet otherwise. I met a few people with MS through my church after publicizing our fundraiser in the church bulletin. One woman had done the MS Challenge Walk for the first few years but couldn't now. She had some wonderful words of wisdom for me — as well as a donation!

Team WWW knows what to do with too much food!

Who knows what other joys or connections I will make over the next few months or even during the walk itself? I look forward to it all!

Wendy, the captain of Team WWW (Walk With Wendy), was diagnosed with MS in 2006.  Although she cut down on her work hours during the past year, she still loves her job as a teacher.  Wendy lives in Attleboro, MA, with her supportive husband and 9-year-old son, who provides inspiration for her daily!

One of the keys to successful fundraising for the MS Challenge Walk is to ask absolutely everyone for support. The more donors you solicit, the more donations you get! The walker with the highest number of donors as of August 15th will "feel the love" and receive special recognition along the walk route and lunch stop each day and during the evening programs.

Another important part of the MS Challenge Walk is teams, which help their members strive for even greater heights. The team with the highest per-walker fundraising average as of August 15th will also be given special recognition along the walk route each day and during the evening programs. In addition, they will receive premium transportation on Sunday from the Wixon School Prefinish BBQ to the Hyannis Transportation Center before the finish line walk and closing ceremony.

Keep up the good work fundraising and recruiting others to join the movement at the MS Challenge Walk. We need your help in continuing to grow this wonderful event. Don't forget to utilize the new and exciting MS Challenge Walk videos on YouTube as a fundraising and recruitment tool.

If you would like to discuss your fundraising campaign and brainstorm new fundraising strategies, please contact us at mschallenge@nmss.org or 800-344-4867 option 2. You can also sign up to receive regular email updates , including a weekly fundraising idea.

Todd is formerly the Director of Development for the Greater New England Chapter of the National Multiple Sclerosis Society. In addition to reading his blog posts, you can also find Todd on Twitter.

What's more concrete to most people is — bowling pins. Everyone has at some point tried this most athletic of sports, whether it's the traditional tenpin or the New England variant known as candlepin. So why not capitalize on this tradition by having a bowling party?

A bowlathon, in which people promise to donate money based on your performance in a string of bowling, is easy to organize and potentially very profitable. A perfect game of bowling has a score of 300, in which case a pledge of as little as a dime per pin can net you $30 toward your fundraising. Of course, few of us are perfect bowlers; not even on the Wii can we aspire to such heights. But a decent game still ends with over 100 pins knocked down, which at fifty cents per pin will earn $50 — and that's from only from one donor to one teammate. If five walkers each have five donors donating 50 cents per pin, and each walker knocks down 100 pins, that's $1250!

I recommend these steps:

1. Contact a local bowling center to see about reserving a date and time (especially important if you're on a team!) at least a week in advance. See if they will donate an hour of lane time for the cause.
2. Create a form with which to collect pledges. There's an excellent Microsoft Excel template that you can download for free and modify for your purposes.
3. Print one copy of the spreadsheet each for you and your teammates.
4. Circulate the spreadsheet to your friends, family, and co-workers. Tell them you'll be bowling one string, and ask them to pledge a certain amount per pin — anywhere from one cent to one dollar. Invite them to come watch or play with you (just for fun!).
5. Have your bowling night. Remember to record your final scores!
6. Report back to your donors with your score. Calculate their pledges for them and let them know how, when, and where they can donate.

A more verbose timeline can be found here.

A bowlathon is not only an effective fundraiser but also a great team-building opportunity. We so often associate our teammates with training and grueling exercises that we forget to have fun with them. Why not treat them to a night at the lanes and raise some money while you're at it?

Ken, a Worcester resident, joined the MS Challenge Walk in 2005, more than a decade after his mother was diagnosed. After walking for three years and 150 miles, he switched to the support crew and now rides his bicycle along the trail, providing whatever encouragement (and snacks!) he can to the 600 walkers. He is also on the event's steering committee and is this site's webmaster.

Fortunately, the National MS Society recognized the conflict and chose not to put its supporters in the position I briefly found myself in. I am incredibly thankful that the NMSS took steps to eliminate that very difficult choice by shortening the event to a two-day walk for this one year.

But to walk 31 miles instead of 50 miles? How disappointing, I thought — for a few hours.

Just as I wouldn't choose to have MS, having MS has taught me to approach life differently and to look for the opportunities hidden within the challenges.  As disappointing as it will be to walk two days and 31 miles, instead of three days and 50 miles, 2010 is presenting us with an incredible opportunity. I have heard people say that they could never walk 50 miles — it's just too long. Have you heard the same thing? Well, here is a chance for those who do not believe they can walk the 50 miles to walk a more manageable 31 miles. And when they walk those 31 miles, they'll find that participating in the Challenge Walk is such an amazing experience that they will walk the 50 mile route the following year.

This is your chance. Pull in all those people who balked at the 50-mile distance. Turn them into rookie Challenge Walkers, and watch them return year after year.

Susan lives in the greater Boston area and has been involved with the National MS Society since she was diagnosed with MS eleven years ago. She has participated in the MS Challenge walk for the past seven years and currently serves on the event's steering committee.

The NMSS has partnered with Spreadshirt.com to create an easy-to-use application to design and order MS Challenge Walk shirts and apparel. You can order as many or as few t-shirts as you want or need. They can even create and ship your order in less than 48 hours. The best part is that Spreadshirt.com will donate 20% of each order back to the National MS Society.

You can design team hats, t-shirts, jackets, and more! Choose from any style, color, cut, etc. Use the pre-selected images or upload your own. Once you have designed your product, you can order for the whole team or customize yours individually.

To let each teammate customize their apparel with their names, just email your final image to challenge@mam.nmss.org and they will add it to the program's image gallery. However, if a team captain places the entire order of shirts for the team (not ordering shirts individually), the NMSS can use this information to track purchases and then count 20% of the order toward the team's fundraising efforts.

You're already a team in spirit; now be a team in style!

Todd is formerly the Director of Development for the Greater New England Chapter of the National Multiple Sclerosis Society. In addition to reading his blog posts, you can also find Todd on Twitter.

Many folks make New Year's resolutions like "Lose weight" or "Exercise more", but these are the kinds of resolutions that fail because they're vague and lack structure. Developing a new, healthful lifestyle over time is more realistic than reinventing oneself overnight, and one way to encourage a gradual change is to set a schedule with a deadline — like, say, the MS Challenge Walk. So why not invite people to set themselves a goal of walking two days and 50K to cure multiple sclerosis?

I've never recruited for my team before because it seems like asking too much of someone. But in the context of a New Year's resolution, what I'm really doing is helping my friends meet their own goals. To do so, I again went to Click2Mail.com and created a postcard. You can see a sample PDF of the simple design I used. The front of the postcard consists of this year's MS Challenge Walk logo, while the back uses the Snipurl service that I've previously recommended. These 6" x 4.25", two-sided cards cost 23 cents each to print in full-color with glossy coating, and 28 cents each to mail, so sending 43 postcards cost only $21.93 total. If even one recipient accepts the challenge and meets the $1,500 fundraising minimum, then I'd say the investment of postcards is well-spent. And imagine if all 43 people formed a team — that'd be an extra $64,500 toward a world free from MS!

The event's two-day format, new to 2010, makes it an attractive option to newcomers who were previously scared off by the prospect of walking fifty miles, or who couldn't take a vacation day to participate in the Friday leg. Make it your New Year's resolution to bring one of these potential walkers into the fold. If you have other techniques for doing so, please share them here!

Ken, a Worcester resident, joined the MS Challenge Walk in 2005, more than a decade after his mother was diagnosed. After walking for three years and 150 miles, he switched to the support crew and now rides his bicycle along the trail, providing whatever encouragement (and snacks!) he can to the 600 walkers. He is also on the event's steering committee and is this site's webmaster.