Lattice Communications Employees
to Bowl for Multiple Sclerosis
FAIRFAX,
IA- November 30, 2012 Employees of Lattice Communications and their families
will take part in a bowling fundraiser on Sunday, Dec. 2 to benefit the
National Multiple Sclerosis Society (NMSS).
The
event will be held at May City Bowl on the Southwest side of Cedar Rapids. Lattice Communications is the primary sponsor
and expects to have over 60 people at the event. Proceeds from the fundraiser will benefit
NMSS. Participants will also have the option of making free will donations and
bidding on silent auction items at the bowling alley.
The
fundraiser benefits a cause that is close to the heart of Lattice
Communications owner Bruce Leventhal, “My mom had MS so it’s personally
important that I can in a small way, make a difference with helping the people
and families affected by this illness receive emotional and mental support,
medications and medical follow-up, food, shelter, transportation, and daycare.
So many things we take for granted are a daily struggle can be minimized with
our contributions,” Leventhal explained.
Each week, more than 200 are diagnosed with Multiple Sclerosis. A
diagnosis is often accompanied by fear, an uncertain future and a list of
painful, frustrating physical and cognitive ailments, such as blindness, poor
bladder control,
loss of concentration and verbal fluency.
Leventhal
praised the efforts of Elizabeth Trcka, who was instrumental in organizing the
bowling fundraiser. “I want to thank Elizabeth Trcka and her family for their
incredible years of effort and contributions with originating the Bowling for
MS Event. This is an excellent community charity that I hope the MS
Society incorporates nationally.”
Trcka,
who owns May City Bowl with her husband, Tom, began the fundraiser 11 years
ago. “My sister was diagnosed with MS 17 years ago, so we wanted
to help in some way. A fundraiser was a way we could help raise awareness and
money.”
She added that she knew that Leventhal’s
mother had the disease and approached him two years ago to become a sponsor for
the event.
“We hope to raise $10,000 this year
with the bowling and silent auction event,” she said. There are auction items
for people of all interests, and Trcka said some of the highlights include a
PGA cap signed by Zach Johnson, YMCA memberships, a year of car washes and many
other items.
FACTS
ABOUT MULTIPLE SCLEROSIS
·
Every
hour, someone is newly diagnosed with MS.
·
MS
affects more than 400,000 people in the U.S. and over 2.1 million worldwide.
- Multiple sclerosis is an
unpredictable, often disabling disease of the central nervous system
- It interrupts the flow of
information within the brain, and between the brain and body and can stop
people from moving
- Most people with MS are
diagnosed between the ages of 20 and 50, with at least two to three times
more women than men being diagnosed with the disease.
·
MS
is the most common neurological disease leading to disability in young adults
·
MS
can cause blurred vision, loss of balance, poor coordination, slurred speech,
tremors, numbness, extreme fatigue and even paralysis and blindness.
·
These
symptoms might be permanent, or they might come and go.
- At least two to three times
more women than men have been diagnosed with MS.
- It’s an exciting time in MS
research, with more than a dozen new therapies moving through the MS
pipeline including the first three oral drugs.
