Carol Stream woman fighting MS
By name, multiple sclerosis is a familiar disease. By symptom, the disease is much harder to know.
It might blur a patient's vision, cause loss of balance or coordination, impair memory and concentration, slur speech, induce tremors or numbness. It might cause some symptoms in one person and a different set in another. And the symptoms may come and go.
MS as a "chronic, unpredictable disease" of the central nervous system, according to the National Multiple Sclerosis Society. Researchers believe it is an autoimmune disorder, meaning the body's own defenses turn on and attack healthy tissue.
Though the disease isn't considered life-threatening, it is life-changing as patients adjust to and cope with the symptoms.
Kim Albin of Carol Stream is one of about 400,000 Americans living with MS, and she's one working hard to do something about it.
Diagnosed about 13 years ago, Albin launched the Cure MS Foundation last year to connect with and help suburbanites affected by the disease. The foundation sponsors events in the suburbs - which are easier to attend for local people disabled by the disease - and donates the proceeds to the Greater Illinois Chapter of the National Multiple Sclerosis Society, which uses the money to help MS sufferers in-state.
Albin tells us more about the Cure MS Foundation.
Q. What is your mission?
A. Our mission is to raise both awareness and funds that are so crucial to the thousands in our area living with multiple sclerosis. While we work toward finding a cure in our lifetime, we also exist to help people living with the day-to-day challenges this devastating illness brings into their lives.
Q. How do you work toward accomplishing that goal?
A. We hope to become the suburban Chicago fundraising organization, hosting a multitude of events from golf outings to the popular Sky Diving for MS event.
Our signature gala, A Night to Benefit People Living With MS - on Nov. 13 this year at the Medinah Shrine Center in Addison - attracts hundreds of our friends and neighbors who either know somebody living with MS or are directly impacted by this disease themselves.
Q. Who do you serve?
A. We exist to help the estimated 20,000 people in Illinois living with MS. Everything we raise is locally restricted for direct assistance to this segment of the population.
Q. When and why did the Cure MS Foundation start? How has it grown?
A. I started this organization in 2008 out of frustration that almost every fundraising event for people living with MS is held downtown and, as anybody who lives with a disability knows, it is incredibly difficult to get into and around downtown Chicago.
I was diagnosed with MS 13 years ago while raising three kids and running a successful business. MS stopped me in my tracks then, but I've spent the years since doing everything my busy career and life never allowed before, including giving back to those less fortunate than myself. This foundation and the wonderful people I've met as a result have given me more than I could ever give.
We started out as just me and a few friends brainstorming about hosting a really nice, affordable dinner with entertainment out here in the suburbs. Within a year, we have grown into a flourishing nonprofit organization with 40 or more great volunteers. We host not only the big fall gala, but other fundraising events throughout the suburbs.
Q. What kind of successes have you had?
A. We have raised and donated $20,000 to the National Multiple Sclerosis Society/Greater Illinois Chapter's direct assistance fund and hope to double that donation this year.
Q. What challenges does the foundation face?
A. The economy would have to be our No. 1 challenge right now. It is hard, if not impossible at times, to get the corporate sponsorship so crucial to hosting a big event.
Fortunately, many businesses and individuals have stepped up and either given in-kind donations or donated to this worthy cause out of their own pockets, making it possible for us to continue the work we do.
Q. What do you wish the community knew about the foundation?
A. I know from working on grant applications and soliciting businesses for corporate sponsorship that people think there is an office and a staff working behind the scenes, but the reality is that most days, it's just me sitting in my kitchen on the computer and phone with a single purpose that drives me: a cure for this disease in my lifetime.
Q. How can readers get involved?
A. By visiting our Web site, curemsfoundation.org, anyone interested in either attending the Nov. 13 gala or donating to our efforts can get all the information they need.
If you go
What: A Night to Benefit People Living With MS
When: 6 p.m. to midnight Nov. 13
Where: Medinah Shrine Centre, 550 Shriners Drive, Addison
Details: Hors d'oeuvres, free cocktails, five-course dinner, music by the Peter Oprisko Orchestra, professional ballroom dancing demonstrations, wine tasting, give-aways, raffles and silent auction
Cost: $90
Info: curemsfoundation.org
Vital statistics
Budget: $20,000 to $25,000
Funding: Donations from local businesses and individuals
Groups that benefit from fundraising: Greater Illinois Chapter of the National Multiple Sclerosis Society, whose requests for direct assistance have quadrupled in the last year
Employees: None; no administrative costs
Volunteers: 40
Wish list: Auction items such as Bears and Cubs tickets, trips with or without airfare, sports memorabilia, department store gift cards, family excursions
Donate: 462 Hunter Drive, Carol Stream, IL 60188
Volunteer: (630) 510-1189 or kalbin@curemsfoundation.org
Info: (630) 510-1189 or curemsfoundation.org