Norwalk resident Kim Martin pours a drink as a guest bartender during the July 2009 Mixing It Up For MS event in Stamford.
At times, making a mark against multiple sclerosis can be as simple as meeting up with friends and colleagues for happy hour. Paradise Bar and Grille, located at 78 Southfield Ave. in Stamford, and Benefit Hope are teaming up to host Mixing It Up For MS from 5:30 p.m. to close on Thursday, Aug. 19.
The guest bartending event raises funds for the National MS Society, Connecticut Chapter through its Benefit Hope committee. Benefit Hope is a young professional committee of the chapter that was founded in 2005 by Carrie Levitt as a non-profit organization fundraising for MS.
For the entire night, volunteers from Benefit Hope will stand in as bartenders and all tips left during their shifts will be donated directly to the Connecticut Chapter. The chapter is partnering with Networking CT, a Fairfield-based group that focuses on business networking, to promote the event.
“We held a Mixing It Up For MS event last year at the Paradise Bar and Grille and we’re looking forward to returning this year,” said Levitt. “The event is a great opportunity to have a fun night out with friends while fundraising for a very good cause.”
Benefit Hope committee members plan MS fundraisers throughout the year and will help plan the MS Taste of Hope, Fairfield County, at the Aitoro kitchen showroom in Norwalk on Thursday, Sept. 30.
More than 6,000 Connecticut residents live with multiple sclerosis, a potentially debilitating disease affecting the central nervous system. The cause is unknown and, as a result, there currently is no cure. Symptoms can include, among other things, numbness and tingling in the limbs, difficulties with vision and speech, stiffness and, in some severe cases, total paralysis. The progress, severity and specific symptoms of MS in any one person cannot be predicted.
Funds raised through chapter events, such as Mixing It Up For MS, ensure ongoing scientific research to find a cure and provide for the continuation of vital programs and services offered by the chapter to those in Connecticut affected by MS.
For more information on the Mixing It Up For MS event or Benefit Hope, please contact Connecticut Chapter development coordinator Carrie Levitt at 860-913-2550, ext. 332, or e-mail clevitt@ctfightsMS.org.
For more information on multiple sclerosis and the many ways the National MS Society, Connecticut Chapter helps people with MS keep their lives moving forward, visit www.ctfightsMS.org.
