VIRGINIA BEACH, Va. (WAVY) — Walk MS is this weekend! This year, from the Peninsula to the Southside, is the first time the walk will be held in person since 2019.
“We know that walk day is kind of this magical place for people,” said Clare Lorio, Senior Manager for the Walk MS Virginia-West Virginia Chapter.
Lorio says participants can expect some changes at Walk MS to ensure everyone stays safe and healthy.
“If you are registered, and you don’t have any donations to turn in, you do not have to come to the check-in tent. You can bypass that altogether” she told 10 On Your Side. “We’re going to keep you out of that line. And if you have raised at least $100, you can just go straight, we’re going to have t-shirts at a separate tent. You just go straight there. You’ll be on the list. You’ll get your shirt, and then you’ll just enjoy the space with your team.”
Lorio says there will be a VIP space set up to celebrate Gold and Silver Club members. They are people who in any given year since 2019 have raised at least $500.
“We’re going to have an extra treat,” Lorio said. “Our fundraisers will come get a lanyard kind of highlighting where they landed, what ranking they are for their site.”
Lorio also says tent village, which celebrates the top fundraising teams, will be much bigger this year because they plan to include the top teams from the pandemic years.
“There’s going to be 10 to 12 team tents, so it’s going to be a really big celebration” she added. “We want people to come out, decorate their tent, and make it a fun space for their team.”
Lorio says fundraising is getting close to pre-pandemic levels, which is very exciting because funding goes to research for a cure and to create new medications to treat Multiple Sclerosis.
“We now have 23 disease-modifying treatments. I started working here less than 10 years ago and we had 11,” according to Lorio. “That’s tremendous progress, and that’s what fundraising does.”
Walk MS in Newport News is Saturday, April 9. Registration begins at 9:00 a.m. at Newport News City Park. The walk starts at 10:00 a.m.
Walk MS in Virginia Beach is Sunday, April 10. Registration begins at 12:00 p.m. The walk begins at 1:00 p.m. The walk this year is in a new location, the ODU Virginia Beach Higher Education Center on University Drive not far from the hospital. That’s where the WAVY Warriors will be!
To join our team, click here.
To donate to the cause, click here.
