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Start training!

Written by on Jul 16, 2015
Danielle Paonessa

Hello, Challengers!

I wanted to check in with you and see the status of your training. We are now eight weeks out from the Challenge Walk MS, and I thought I'd give you some motivational tips and information to keep you motivated!

To train correctly for this event, you need to progress slowly and listen to your body at all times. Begin by adjusting first the frequency of you walking, then the duration and finally the intensity. The essential components of a good walking program are warm-up, walk, cool-down, stretching and strength training.

Five Good Reasons to Start Walking (besides the MS Challenge Walk)

  1. Reduces cholesterol levels
  2. Decrease high blood pressure
  3. Reduces risk of heart disease
  4. Increase energy
  5. Decreases stress

Five Ways to Incorporate Walking into Your Daily Life

  1. Walk your dog (or someone else's dog — with permission, of course!)
  2. Take a pre- or post-dinner walk. This is a great time to just be by yourself or take along your family for some quality time with them!
  3. Skip the elevator and take the stairs
  4. Do errands on foot, or park in the rear of the parking lot and walk to the store
  5. Walk to work — even if you telecommute, take a half-hour each morning to do a lap around the neighborhood, ending at your "office"

Five Steps to Take to be Successful

  1. Make a commitment to yourself
  2. Reserve time in your schedule
  3. Create a habit first
  4. Establish your long and short term goals
  5. Reward yourself when you meet your goals (a new bestseller, tickets to a concert or play, etc)

Fitbit Challenge

Are you training with your Fitbit? Be sure to participate in our Fitbit Challenge by joining our Fitbit Group. Join other walkers training and walk to the number one spot!!

You should have received all your materials, if not please let me know. Keep up the hard work and check out our website for additional training information, including our training schedule guide.

Take care,

Danielle Paonessa
Development Coordinator
National MS Society

Danielle Paonessa is a development coordinator with the National MS Society. She works on four MS Walks around the Boston area and helps with the Challenge Walk. Danielle has a degree in Hospitality and Tourism Management from the University of Massachusetts, Amherst, and became interested in working in the non-profit industry after interning with Make-A-Wish her senior year of college.

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Challenge Walk MS training and new fundraising raffle!

Written by on May 23, 2015
Aileen Callahan

Can you believe it? It's almost the unofficial start of summer – Memorial Day weekend is tomorrow! And really, I am so happy it is. I know we have all had a tough winter, so let's celebrate this great weather by getting out and walking!

Make sure your check out the training schedule in our guide if you have not done so yet. Next week is the start of the 18-week training schedule! Do you have a Fitbit or other step tracking device? Log your steps and use that to help you with your training this year! Be on the lookout on how tracking your training can help you win a prize on Friday night of Challenge Walk MS!

Did you hear the news? We have a Patriots Grill to raffle off and help you with your fundraising! All raffle ticket sales will go directly to your personal goal for Challenge Walk MS. For information and how to get the raffle tickets to sell, check out the "Document Downloads" section of our website or click above!

OUR IMPACT: In 2014, the National MS Society invested $50 million to support 385 research initiatives worldwide. Each year, Challenge Walk MS: Cape Cod participants and Crew members raise close to $1 million dollars. You ALL have a direct impact in the latest MS research around the world, as well as helping people with MS regionally with day-to-day programs and assistance. THANK YOU for your continued efforts in fundraising to help us get closer to a cure!

Congratulations to our Top Fundraising Teams (so far!):

  1. The Lombardi Party – $21,001
  2. Team Hurri-Kane – $6,950
  3. Team Believers – $5,845
  4. Blister Buddies – $5,170
  5. Tommy's Team – $4,440

Kudos to our Top Individual Fundraisers (so far!):

  1. Chad Matthews – $8,048
  2. Kevin Lombardi – $6,995
  3. Krista Kane – $5,625
  4. Patricia Thorpe – $5,120
  5. Tom Olafsson – $4,440

Need advice or want to talk about your fundraising? Let me know! I am here to help!

Enjoy the nice weather that we all so deserve!

Aileen is the Director of Development for the Greater New England Chapter of the National MS Society responsible for the 2013 Challenge Walk. She has interned with the National MS Society at the Greater Delaware Valley Chapter with Program Events and is looking forward to working closely with the Steering Committee and Challenge Walk Teams to make this year's MS Challenge Walk a memorable one!

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We are two weeks away!

Written by on Aug 22, 2014
Aileen Callahan

All Aboard, Challenge Walkers!

We are officially 2 weeks out! Try to think back on all the hours of training you've completed and all your efforts in fundraising to fight MS. The Challenge Walk MS weekend is the culmination of a tremendous amount of work and a celebration of all that we have accomplished together.

As event weekend quickly approaches, we are putting the finishing touches on all details. Please let the Challenge Walk MS Team know if you need any last-minute fundraising help or have any lingering questions about the weekend. We look forward to seeing you all very soon.

Thursday Night Early Check-In Party

For those of you arriving to the Cape early, please join us on Thursday night at the Cape Codder Resort in Hyannis for an early check-in party.  Pick up your walker/crew credentials and sign the appropriate waiver forms, and meet other walkers and crew!  Enjoy delicious catering and celebrate the start of a great weekend. The festivities begin are from 6:00 pm – 8:30 pm. We hope to see you there.

For arrival information and instructions, please see the Travel & Information Guide.

Please note – housing at the Sea Camps is for Friday & Saturday night only. If you're attending the Thursday night early check-in party, you must make your own accommodation arrangements.

Reminder — Travel Guide

Our Travel and Information Guide has all of the who/what/where's of the 2014 Challenge Walk MS.  Use this guide to find directions to the Kalmus Beach Parking Area in Hyannis (where all walkers and crew park their cars for the weekend).  The guide also has useful information on packing and the weekend schedule. To download this document, click here.

Last Minute Fundraising Notes

We are striving to reach our goal of over $1 million dollars this year for the MS Challenge Walk. Donations are coming in online and through the mail every day and will continue to do so after the walk. But, we need your continued efforts to ensure we hit this mark. Are there friends and family members who have promised to donate but have yet to do so? We encourage you to send them and email or letter reminding them of their pledge. We need all Challenge Walkers to reach their fundraising goals so that together we can all continue to create a world free of MS. If you are having troubles reaching your goal, please do not hesitate to contact the Challenge Walk MS Team and we can work together to find the best fundraising methods for you. All team and individual top fundraising prizes will be for the donations that have come in as of Wednesday, Sept. 3rd. Send in those checks!!

From Crew Member to Super Crew

We are encouraging all crew members at the Challenge Walk to become a member of the Super Crew. A member of the Super Crew is someone who raises at least $200 for the Challenge Walk MS. Last year, crew members raised over $50,000 for the MS Challenge Walk. Members of the Super Crew will receive a Super Crew cap and 2014 pin to commemorate their success. As of right now, we only have a handful of Super Crew and would like to add more, so please send in your donations!

Congratulations to our top teams (to date):

  1. The Lombardi Party – $30,072
  2. Feet 2 DeFeat MS – $26,228
  3. Cocktails for a Cure – $ 21,954
  4. MS Action Heroes – $21,448
  5. Linda’s Legacy – $15,956

Kudos to our Top Individual Fundraisers (to date):

  1. Tom Olafsson – $10,931
  2. Sue Carrai – $7,830
  3. Barbara Johnson – $7,660
  4. Joan Kaplan – $7,640
  5. Kathy Smith – $6,468

Aileen is the Director of Development for the Greater New England Chapter of the National MS Society responsible for the 2013 Challenge Walk. She has interned with the National MS Society at the Greater Delaware Valley Chapter with Program Events and is looking forward to working closely with the Steering Committee and Challenge Walk Teams to make this year's MS Challenge Walk a memorable one!

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Almost there!

Written by on Aug 23, 2013
Aileen Callahan

We are officially two weeks out! Try to think back on all the hours of training you've completed and all your efforts in fundraising to fight MS. The MS Challenge Walk weekend is the culmination of a tremendous amount of work and a celebration of all that we have accomplished together.

As event weekend quickly approaches, we are putting the finishing touches on all details. Please let the MS Challenge Walk Team know if you need any last-minute fundraising help or have any lingering questions about the weekend. We look forward to seeing you all very soon.

Thursday Night Early Check-In Party

For those of you arriving to the Cape early, please join us on Thursday night at the Cape Codder Resort in Hyannis for an early check-in party.  Pick up your walker/crew credentials and sign the appropriate waiver forms, and meet other walkers and crew!  Enjoy delicious catering and celebrate the start of a great weekend. The festivities begin are from 6:00 pm – 9:00 pm. We hope to see you there.

For arrival information and instructions, please see the Travel & Information Guide.

Please note – housing at the Sea Camps is for Friday & Saturday night only. If you're attending the Thursday night early check-in party, you must make your own accommodation arrangements.

Reminder – Travel Guide

Our Travel and Information Guide has all of the who/what/where's of the 2013 MS Challenge Walk.  Use this guide to find directions to the Kalmus Beach Parking Area in Hyannis (where all walkers and crew park their cars for the weekend).  The guide also has useful information on packing and the weekend schedule. To download this document, click here.  If you are having trouble downloading this document, feel free to contact the MS Challenge Walk Team.

Last Minute Fundraising Notes

We are striving to reach our goal of over $1 million dollars this year for the MS Challenge Walk. Donations are coming in online and through the mail every day and will continue to do so after the walk. But, we need your continued efforts to ensure we hit this mark. Are there friends and family members who have promised to donate but have yet to do so? We encourage you to send them and email or letter reminding them of their pledge. We need all Challenge Walkers to reach their fundraising goals so that together we can all continue to create a world free of MS. If you are having troubles reaching your goal, please do not hesitate to contact the MS Challenge Walk Team and we can work together to find the best fundraising methods for you.

From Crew Member to Super Crew

We are encouraging all crew members at the Challenge Walk to become a member of the Super Crew. A member of the Super Crew is someone who raises at least $200 for the MS Challenge Walk. Last year, crew members raised over $50,000 for the MS Challenge Walk. Members of the Super Crew will receive a Super Crew cap and 2013 pin to commemorate their success. As of right now, we only have a handful of Super Crew and would like to add more, so please send in your donations!

Congratulations to our top teams (to date):

  1. The Lombardi Party – $75,409
  2. Cocktails for a Cure – $28,061
  3. Blister Buddies – $28,057
  4. Team DEA and Friends – $26,523
  5. Rhode Trippers – $19,859

Kudos to our Top Individual Fundraisers (to date):

  1. Nick D’Alleva – $17,735
  2. Kate Carlson – $12,450
  3. Tom Olafsson – $12,417
  4. James Derick – $10,387
  5. Kevin Lombardi – $10,345

All the best,
Aileen Callahan
Development Manager, MS Challenge Walk

Aileen is the Director of Development for the Greater New England Chapter of the National MS Society responsible for the 2013 Challenge Walk. She has interned with the National MS Society at the Greater Delaware Valley Chapter with Program Events and is looking forward to working closely with the Steering Committee and Challenge Walk Teams to make this year's MS Challenge Walk a memorable one!

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Happy Summer, Challenge Walkers!

Written by on Jun 25, 2013
Aileen Callahan

Happy Summer!

Days are longer, weather is warmer — it's the lazy days of summer…

This also means that the MS Challenge Walk is only a few short months away! If you have yet to start your fundraising – NOW is the time to do so!!

You all have amazing plans for this summer, all of which include networks of opportunity to fundraise. Have a BBQ to go to on the other side of your neighborhood? Try walking there and telling your BBQ buddies about your September weekend on the Cape. Run a 50/50 or a raffle at the next Bruins Stanley Cup viewing party! Ask your employer to have a casual Friday for MS, with the proceeds to dress down going towards your fundraising goal. I challenge you to get creative with the resources you have around you!

Don’t let yourself postpone your fundraising or training! Joining the effort to find a cure for MS is too important.

How is your fundraising going? Please feel free to reach out to me with any questions or concerns.

Congratulations to our top teams (so far):

  1. The Lombardi Party – $47,745
  2. Team DEA and Friends – $21,497
  3. Cocktails for a Cure – $14,892
  4. Sarah’s Sponsors – $12,039
  5. The Believers – $8,478

Kudos to our Top Individual Fundraisers:

  1. Nick D’Alleva – $17,735
  2. Kate Carlson – $10,925
  3. Kevin Lombardi – $10,170
  4. James Derick – $5,912
  5. Ann Scannell – $5,750

It’s back! – Bonus Bucks Incentive

For the next month, any registered participant who helps a new Challenge Walker sign up will get $100 of Bonus Bucks towards your fundraising! This $100 of Bonus Bucks you can choose what to do with it:

  • Use the $100 towards your own fundraising goal
  • Split the Bonus Bucks with your new participant and each get $50 towards your fundraising goal
  • Encourage the new participant to sign up by giving them $100 of Bonus Bucks to get started towards their fundraising!

E-mail me the name of the new walker, along with how you would like the money allocated. The promotion will run through the end of July.

Training Walk – Mark Your Calendar

  • There’s still time! Walk MS Wakefield: Saturday, June 22. All MS Challenge Walkers are welcome to attend and waive the registration fee! This will be a great opportunity to meet a number of your Challenge Walkers before September! Registration opens at 9 AM, walk starts at 10 AM. Please stop by the Challenge Walk table!
  • Franklin, MA: Every Saturday at 8:30 AM, some South Shore members of the Lombardi Party will walk, starting at the Kennedy School on Pond Drive. All are welcome to join! For any questions, you can email me.
  • July 27 in Brockton for a Training Walk with your fellow Challenge Walk peers! More info to come.

Aileen is the Director of Development for the Greater New England Chapter of the National MS Society responsible for the 2013 Challenge Walk. She has interned with the National MS Society at the Greater Delaware Valley Chapter with Program Events and is looking forward to working closely with the Steering Committee and Challenge Walk Teams to make this year's MS Challenge Walk a memorable one!

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