Shop & Save a Life

Today begins the start of a wonderful new opportunity for you to be charitable while doing your shopping. Parent Bloggers is giving everyone the kick to raise money for their favourite charity in the most ingenious way...by doing what we all love...shopping. "So what does that mean, Kimba," you ask. It's sooo simple. Following this link, shop online with any of the retailers on the site's pull down menu (you'll be surprised to find many of the big name sites on there -- Disney Store, Hallmark, Linens 'n Things, etc.) and I've set it up to that 50%...yes, 50% of the proceeds go to the Multiple Sclerosis Foundation.

Multiple Sclerosis is an often misunderstood disease because not only does it affect every person with it differently, science still hasnt' determined exactly the cause yet. As a result, funding is often minimal to the research for a cure. Insurance companies & Medicaid won't always cover the care & treatment of individual's with MS. That's why any funds that can go to finding a cure are so important.

You see, my mother suffers from MS. Besides being a wonderful mom to me & my many siblings, mom used to be a professional figure skater & an award winning dancer. She was full of life & vitality. A petite blonde with a pixie haircut, I don't think I ever saw my mother wear anything but spikey high heels. She was hip & fashionable and she & my father loved to travel the world. She grew up in Chicago & loved the city. When I was in college she had started stumbling, & her legs felt weak. She was eventually diagnosed with MS. The disease attacked her fast, and within a couple of years she was in a wheelchair. This physically active woman no longer had use of her legs. My father cared intensely for her, and she willingly tried anything & everything that might help (including enduring bee sting treatments...something I could never do!) Unfortunately NOTHING has helped. She does not have the sort of MS that goes into a recessive state (like Montel Williams has), but instead her is ongoing. My mother now is forced to reside in a nursing home, unable to any longer wheel herself around, or even feed herself. Mentally she is bright & alert. Physically her body is a shell that she can no longer control. It's sad & difficult to see, knowing I can't do anything for her.

Ah, but I can! And so can you! Again, please consider shopping on line through iBakeSale, so that 50% will go to Multiple Sclerosis research. And just so you know, if you join you can set up your own funds (whether they be for a cause or the "charity begins at home" cause), though I hope you'll consider being a part of my MS group. My mom & I thank you.

Here are a few facts about MS:

Multiple Sclerosis is the most common progressive and disabling neurological condition in young adults
Approx 2.5 million people worldwide, have Multiple Sclerosis
Around 400,000 people in the United States have Multiple Sclerosis.

MS doesn't kill, but it does shorten a lifespan by an average of 7 years.

MS affects women 2:1 over men in the US, and 2:1 caucasion over other races.

The rate of developing MS is 1 in 800, meaning you probably know someone who has it or you will get it...what better reason to help find a cure?