FOR
IMMEDIATE RELEASE
MS Society of Canada celebrates 30 years of selling
carnations in
effort to end multiple sclerosis
Prime ministers and bank robbers enjoy beauty of resilient
flower
Toronto - May 3, 2006 It’s
a tradition that Arlyne Walsh has followed for 30 years. In the days leading
up to Mother’s Day, she takes her post at Finch station or a downtown
mall, dons a white smock and sells colourful carnations to shoppers
and commuters. The reason is simple: to end multiple sclerosis, a disease
her mother lived with until her passing in 1963.
“I really miss her,” Walsh says of her mother. “She’s
gone now but I think by volunteering I can really help others.”
Walsh, 60, has been involved
with the Multiple Sclerosis Society of Canada’s
MS Carnation Campaign since it first ran nationwide in 1976. Since that time,
stories abound. Among many others, powerful politicians like Pierre Trudeau
and Brian Mulroney have donned the resilient flower. MS Society archives
also describe the Great Robbery of 1976 when a bandit with a gun in
one hand and a just-purchased carnation in the other, relieved a Toronto
bank of $800 (it is not known if he was ever caught).
In terms of volume, the campaign has sold nine million bouquets or 27 million
individual stems. Laying all those flowers end-on-end would cover the entire
Canada-US border.
As Walsh speaks about the early
days of the campaign, she fondly recalls that her mother’s favorite carnation colour was red. It
reminds her that the reason she volunteers is for the memory of her
mother and for any others that may be diagnosed in the future.
“The carnation is a resilient flower and I think that’s the
approach we need to end MS,” says Walsh. “I will continue to
volunteer until the battle against MS is won.”
Since its inception, the program
has raised close to $45 million to fund MS research and services.
In these 30 years, the face of MS has changed greatly: four government-approved
drug treatments are available to help control the disease; diagnosis
is faster and more efficient resulting in improved care; 22 clinics
are open across the country and most importantly, hope for finding a cause
and cure is at an all-time high.
“Before wristbands and multi-coloured ribbons, flowers represented
causes,” says Alistair M. Fraser, president and chief executive of
the MS Society. “For three decades and still going strong, the MS Society
of Canada’s Carnation Campaign represents the desire of all Canadians
impacted by multiple sclerosis to beat this disease into submission and make
the letters ‘MS’ stand for ‘mystery solved’”.
This year’s MS Carnation Campaign takes place May 11 – 13
in cities throughout Canada. To get involved, please call 1-800-268-7582
or visit www.mssociety.ca.
For
more information:
Stewart Wong
National Manager, Media Relations
416-967-3025
Stewart.wong@mssociety.ca
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