Rotarian Action Group of MS Awareness
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· Rotarians can help find a cure for MS:
News From Our Vocational Director, Teresa Hamilton
On Sunday the 17th of September RAGMSA ran a fundraiser,
which was unique. The Fundraiser was a lunch followed by a parade of 6 decades
of wedding gown fashion. There were 43 wedding gowns ranging from 1947 - 2006.
The gowns came from lady Rotarians and the wives of Rotarians from District
9800. There were 23 models who were students from Mowbray Private School in
Melton (45 mins away from Melbourne).
The parade was held in a beautiful Wedding Reception Centre which is a fully
renovated 1905 homestead. The Gowns distinctive styles showcased the fashion
sense of the era they were made in. We raised $5571.45, which is fantastic
as the chairperson of the fundraiser sub committee set out to raise between
$5000 - $6000. Here is some feedback from ladies who attended the event: -
"Thank you for a lovely afternoon, everyone on my table had a great time.
The venue was spot on couldn't have been better. Well done to your team"
and "Everyone around me seemed to be having such a great time. I didn't
realize wedding dresses could cause so much excitement! It made me think that,
yes; there really must be a lot of happy marriages around when women treasure
their wedding dresses so fondly." There was a lot more feedback like
this. Too much to put in this BLOG
Martin Taurins in Copenhagen.
There was a RAGMSA exhibition booth at this Year's Rotary International Convention in Malmo, Sweeden and Copenhagen, Denmark. It was run by RAGMSA President Martin Taurins with the help of volunteers from the MS Society of Denmark.
News From Our Vocational Director, Teresa Hamilton
We are holding a fashion parade and Silent Auction on Sunday 17th September from 12 to 3.30 pm at Roslyn Court, 33 Raleigh St, Essendon, Melbourne, Australia. All money raised will go to MS Research. For full details, click HERE. Here is the booking form.
Rowley Fenwick from the Rotary Club of Whyalla in District 9500, South Australia reports:
Thank You Jacob for keeping me up to date with what
is happening in RMSA.
We have just held our first MS ball here and it was was quite succsesful having
raised a further $12,000.00 for our MS a/c which now brings us up to a balance
of $17,000.00. So you can see that although you may not hear from me often
I am still working very hard to achieve my goal of $30,000.00. Once achieved
I will look to you for advise as to where we can do the best of good for PWMS.
My hope is to try to channel it through ARHRF.
Marie had her first MRI last month since being diagnosed 4 years ago and they
noticed no significant change. As you can imagine we are both very happy with
the result.
Jacob we hope this report finds you well and coping, Marie and I think and
talk of you often. Your courage is an inspiration to us both.
Kind regards
Rowley and Marie Fenwick.
Rotarian Fellowship of MS Awareness
At RI Chicago Convention June 2005
Diana, Martin, Jacob, and Kel Sidebottom as well as Dave Cotant attended an exhibition Booth along with representatives of the Chicago Chapter of the National MS Society. The RFMSA had a float in the Rotary Centennial Parade on June 18th with other representatives of Rotary Districts 9800 and 9790. It was a great announcement of Rotarian MS Awareness and a splendid time was had by all!
-Rotarian Fellowship of MS Awareness
At RI Osaka Convention May 2004
Fellowship Booth: Martin, Diana and Jacob Taurins attended the Rotary International convention in Osaka, Japan. Jacob and Diana attended plenary sessions in the mornings while Martin and Mr. Nishimura, the CEO of the Japanese MS Society manned the booth. In the afternoons Diana and Jacob joined them. They handed out materials given them by the MSIF (MS International Federation) and the MSIF representative Naomi Banno.
The Fellowship held its Annual General Meeting where members heard a report from a Japanese neurologist, Mr. Sakhimoto, who talked about the current state of MS research in Japan.
Numerous people signed a visitors' book expressing interest in the activities of the Fellowship. New members were signed from places as diverse as the Netherlands and Nepal.
Martin, Diana and Jacob also attended the Rotary Fellowship's AGM and plans are being made for next year's RI Convention in Chicago marking the 100th year of Rotary service. Activities the RFMSA is planning to hold include an MS Walk and a float in the parade of Rotary Fellowships.
Martin met with Paul Webb, the president- elect of the Rotary Club of Clover Park and discussed their plans for MS.
We look forward to an exciting convention next year.
-A report from Fellowship vice- chairman Dave Cotant:
Jacob, Congratulations on achieving
the best title in Rotary... . "Past". I know you had a great year,
and I am sure your club will continue to grow on the efforts of this pasts
year. Terri and I area also looking forward to Chicago. It will be a great
trip, convention and party.
CPRC is pleased to welcome back Past President Laura Musser Eskew. Laura was
gone to Colorado for a couple of years, but is now back in Lakewood, and has
been re-proposed as a member.
As president, Laura was instrumental in getting the Clover Park Club involved
in the MS Awareness effort. She and a small group of Rotarians proposed the
MS Clinic in Tacoma which has now been completed as the Tacoma Neuroscience
Center. I spoke recently with Dr. Huddlestone, noted MS specialist, who indicated
that they were now going to institute the MS Clinic to be a special part of
the Center. The clinic will have special nurses and case managers to help
people living with MS and their support groups to have better coordination
of care.
CPRC has given $40,000.00 toward the clinic, with an additional $20,000.00
due next July. We keep those fund raising efforts going. Currently we are
involved with a Raffle for a Volkswagen Beetle.
- Help establish the status of MS research internationally
- Collaborate with MS Societies, MS Investigators, Pharmaceutical companies and governments to determine the best path forward to help find a cure for MS.
· Expand MS Awareness within Rotary
- Formation of MS committees in districts where there are Rotary Clubs and MS Societies. The latest Rotary MS Awareness Committee is in District 9500, South Australia. Here is a report from Rowley Fenwick the chairman of the District 9500 MS Awareness Committee:
Hello Jacob,
A bit quiet here at present due to change over activities etc but will get
moving again soon on the following tasks.
1 Computer assistance Seaton SA 5033
2 Supplying and installing computer to MS client in Pt Augusta SA
3 Talks with clubs in District 9500 re MSA
4 Talks with new DG re MSA
5 Further talks with MS Soc. SA re their involvement.
The main focus at present will be tasks 3,4 & 5
My main problem at present is what programs to support
in our infancy. I am thinking some small starter programs that I can offer
clubs when talking to them to get them involved there and then and a larger
program to focus on when and if I can get them to collectively donate to a
central district fund. I am thinking something like a Phd scholarship or another
research program that will attract ARHRF MATCHING GRANTS. What are your thoughts
Jacob? Any suggestions would be appreciated.
Kind Regards
Rowley
- Promote MS as the next major rotary national project in Australia.
A message from researcher Dr. Helmut Butzkueven about research hoped to be carried out at Victoria's Howard Florey Institute with the aid of a scholarship by the Australian Rotary Health Research Fund (ARHRF)
Dear Martin ,
As suggested, "Brain repair in MS" might be a good title. We basically work on trying to understand the body's own brain repair mechanisms operating in MS. Obviously, these do eventually fail. IF we could understand how they work, we might be able to enhance them. In lay terms: Essentially, MS is a disease of cells called oligodendrocytes, which produce a substance called myelin. In MS, oligodendrocytes are attacked by the body's own immune system and this results in patchy loss of oligodendrocytes and myelin throughout the brain and spine. Then, the body will attempt to repair the damage by producing new oligodendrocytes, which move in to the damaged patch and make new myelin. This process works well early in MS, but eventually fails. To understand what oligodendrocytes and myelin do, it's probably best to think of an electrical cable (after all, the brain is an electrical system). The cables of the brain are called axons, and their covering (like the insulation arond a wire) is called myelin. This is produced by cells in the brain called oligodendorcytes. Myelin protects the axons, nourishes them, and also allows electricity to move in the axons faster. What our work tries to understand is
1.why the brain inflammation kills some oligodendrocytes and others survive
2. where new (repair) oligodendrocytes come from
3. how they know where they have to go
4. how they make new myelin
If we start to understand these processes, we may, for example, be able to develop drugs in the future that allow more oligodendorcytes to survive the immune attack, allow more new ones to be generated, or make them produce more new myelin.
Hope this helps, Cheers
Helmut >
· Create opportunities to involve more rotary clubs:
- MS projects can involve partnering, vocation specific exchanges, international, community and fellowship avenues of service.
· Internationally
- Establish link between Rotary Clubs and MS Societies which exist in 40 countries
History:
The Multiple Sclerosis Awareness project was started by the Rotary club of Gisborne Victoria, Australia 3 years ago and is now an approved District 9800 project.
· The District 9800 MS Committee
consists of:
- District 9800: Rotary Clubs of Gisborne, Werribee, Wyndham, Chadstone, Essendon
North.
- District 9790: RC of Numurkah.
- Multiple Sclerosis Society of Victoria.
Other clubs have helped to complete video, vocation exchanges, etc refer achievements.
Achievements:
- Formed district 9800 MS Committee 1997.
- Brainstormed how Rotary could help people with MS.
- Identified and implemented 7 ways to help.
- Produced two MS Awareness videos
- Completed pilot Vocation Specific Exchange between MS Societies of Victoria Australia and Buenos Aires, Argentina.
- RC of Wyndham sent container of mobility aids to MS Society of Buenos Aires.
- Established link between RC of Gisborne in District 9800 Australia, RC of Manukau in District 9920, New Zealand, RC of Rafaela in District 4830 Argentina.
- Partnered with RC of Manakau, NZ to facilitate vocation exchange between MSV and MS Society Auckland, NZ.
- Contributed to meeting with MS investigators November 24, 2000 at Walter Eliza Hall Institute of Research. On progress in MS Research. The session was devoted to "MS research into the new millennium: fostering collaborative interactions" This may pave the way to a "think tank" in the future.
- Promoted MS Awareness at 2000 RI convention in Buenos Aires, 2001 convention in San Antonio, 2002 convention in Barcelona and 2003 convention in Brisbane.
- Rotary Clubs globally expressed interest to become involved eg, Argentina, USA, Hong Kong, Brazil, Canada, Germany, U.K., South Africa and Guam.
- Raised $A77,000 (Rotary Club of MS account to date).
How will it work:
Rotary has a structure that can be simply described as three levels: Club; District; and International. The MS Awareness project envisages the involvement of Rotary at all these levels. Rotary is structured in such a way that the things that interest all of these levels is basically the same, the difference is only one of scale.
We as Rotarians wish to help people with MS as best we can given the opportunities available to us. The effects and challenges that a person diagnosed with this disease can not be exaggerated and are difficult for even the most sympathetic person to imagine.
We want to help find a cure for this disease and then distribute that cure throughout the world. A lot is known about this degenerative nerve disorder but a lot remains a mystery. What causes it? Why are there so many different forms of MS, effecting each person differently? Finding a cure will not only be confined within the walls of a laboratory but will also be in the hands of the people who know and care for someone with MS.
Members of local clubs are actively involved in the search for a cure and also creating an infrastructure for people with other disabilities when they help someone with MS.
Local Clubs have helped people set up computers with Internet access so they can work from home. Clubs have helped renovate homes to make them accessible to those who have become disabled. Clubs have set up various fund-raising activities such as raffles and charity gala balls. Videos on MS awareness have been produced by clubs. It is worth remembering that there are many Rotarians with MS, or have family and friends with MS.
On a District level committees can be set up that have links with the MS Society within that District and can help conceive of projects that can be launched within that District. An example is the longitudinal study seed funded by the District 9800 MS Awareness Committee.
Internationally Rotary can facilitate a global audit. This will bring together the many different aspects of MS research.
There is opportunity for Rotary to become involved in the MS Awareness project at all of its levels of operation: locally, at District level and Internationally
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