Carlsbad CA— More than 3,500 people are expected to raise about $500,000 on Sunday morning, April 19, at the National Multiple Sclerosis Society’s 2015 San Diego County Credit Union Walk MS at LEGOLAND® California Resort, 1 Legoland Dr., Carlsbad. Check-in begins at 6:30 a.m., and the 1.5-mile or 2.5-mile walk inside the theme park will begin at 7:30 a.m.
LEGOLAND® will be open only to Walk MS walkers during the fundraiser. At the conclusion of Walk MS, LEGOLAND® will open at its regularly scheduled time of 10 a.m., and all walkers will be invited to re-enter the theme park at a discounted admission price.
Admission is free to attend Walk MS. There is no cost to be a walker. On-site registration is available. Event information is available at www.MSWalk.com.
Proceeds will benefit MS research and program and services for people with MS, an unpredictable, often disabling disease of the central nervous system that interrupts the flow of information within the brain and between the brain and body.
San Diego County Credit Union (SDCCU), San Diego’s largest locally-owned financial institution, is returning as title sponsor of Walk MS at LEGOLAND®. SDCCU has supported the National MS Society’s Walk MS for the past 17 years, and has served as title sponsor since 2002. Over the years, SDCCU’s sponsorship support for Walk MS has exceeded $1 million, according to the National MS Society.
Presenting sponsors of 2015 San Diego County Credit Union Walk MS include NBC7 San Diego, KyXy 96.5, Energy 103.7, Sycuan Casino and Legoland California Resort.
Now in its 25th year in San Diego, Walk MS is known for drawing a large number of teams representing businesses, neighborhoods, clubs, community groups, churches and family members and friends of a person with MS. Many teams come up with a team name and outfit their members with costumes, including T-shirts, hats or balloons. All it takes is four or more people to form a team. Free snacks and beverages will be provided to walkers, plus live music and a festive finish line celebration. Walkers will have the opportunity to earn prizes, including t-shirts, movie tickets and gift cards, based on the amount of donations they collect.

 
The National Multiple Sclerosis Society’s San Diego-based Pacific South Coast Chapter serves more than 51,500 people affected by MS living in San Diego, Orange and Imperial counties, as well as the Hawaiian islands.
 
MS, the most common neurological disease leading to disability in young adults, is typically diagnosed between the ages of 20 and 50, although an estimated 8,000-to-10,000 children under the age of 18 also live with MS. Two to three times more women than men have been diagnosed with MS. An estimated 2.3 million people live with MS worldwide.
 
MS symptoms can range from numbness and tingling to blindness and paralysis, as well as blurred vision, loss of balance, poor coordination, slurred speech, tremors, numbness, extreme fatigue and cognitive deficits. Symptoms might be permanent, or they might come and go. By eating away at the coating that allows nerve cells to transmit messages, MS can lead to restrictive or awkward movements and mental gaps, among other problems. Studies indicate that genetic factors may make certain individuals more susceptible to the disease, but there is no evidence that MS is directly inherited.