Best-selling author Jacquelyn Mitchard will serve as the keynote speaker for the 2009 March Into Spring Women Against MS luncheon on Thursday, April 23, at the Greenwich Country Club
The 26th annual March Into Spring Women Against MS Luncheon of Fairfield County will take place Thursday, April 23, at the Greenwich Country Club. The luncheon will feature 25 area vendors and New York Times best-selling author Jacquelyn Mitchard as the keynote speaker.
The first March Into Spring event raised a few thousand dollars in 1983 and has since collectively raised more than $1.5 million to support the fight against multiple sclerosis.
“This event has a great history,” said Kim Maloney, National MS Society, Connecticut Chapter development manager and coordinator for the event. “The luncheon started out as an idea shared by three Greenwich women at a kitchen table 26 years ago and has become a major fundraising event for the Connecticut Chapter.”
This year’s event features area vendors showing off their products, including high-end custom jewelry, clothing, accessories, home décor items and children’s items. Guests will have the opportunity to shop the vendors from 10:30 a.m. to noon and from 1:30 to 3:30 p.m. The luncheon is scheduled for noon to 1:30 p.m.
The keynote speaker, Jacquelyn Mitchard, is best known for her novel “Deep End Of The Ocean.” The book was a bestseller in 1996 and the first selection for Oprah Winfrey’s popular “Oprah’s Book Club.”
Mitchard also authored the critically acclaimed “The Breakdown Lane,” a novel about living with the sudden onset of a chronic illness. Mitchard’s own lifelong friend, Jeanine, was diagnosed several years ago with multiple sclerosis.
Each year, event organizers present the Georgina B. Davids Award to someone making a difference for those battling the effects of multiple sclerosis or an individual living life to the fullest in the face of adversity. This year, the award will go to Pari Kreutter Hirsch, director of sales and marketing for Highgrove Condominium Residences in Stamford, who is being recognized for her 18 years of participating in the March Into Spring WAMS luncheon and encourage others to join the fight against MS.
Marit Price, co-host of the Most Music Morning Show on Star 99.9 FM in Milford, will serve as the event’s emcee.
According to statistics, three times as many women compared to men are diagnosed with multiple sclerosis. As a result, women across the nation now come together annually, state by state and chapter by chapter, to learn, through inspirational personal accounts, about the effects of this potentially debilitating disease and the latest advances in treatment and care.
More than 6,000 Connecticut residents battle multiple sclerosis and there is no cure. The progress, severity and specific symptoms of MS in any one person cannot be predicted.
Funds raised through chapter events, such as the March Into Spring WAMS Luncheon, ensure ongoing scientific research to find better treatments and a cure. These funds also provide for the continuation of vital programs and services offered by the chapter to those in the state living with multiple sclerosis.
Guests can reserve their seat by accepting an invitation from a WAMS table captain or by contacting the Connecticut Chapter. A $125 donation is requested.
For more information on the March Into Spring Women Against MS Luncheon, please contact Kim Maloney at 860-714-2300 or at kmaloney@ctfightsMS.org. For more information on multiple sclerosis and the many ways you can make a difference, contact the National Multiple Sclerosis Society, Connecticut Chapter at 800-FIGHT MS or visit www.ctfightsms.org.
