Event will benefit National Multiple Sclerosis Society Pacific South Coast Chapter

Escondido CA— The Escondido Sunrise Rotary Club has announced that the National Multiple Sclerosis Society’s San Diego-based Pacific South Coast Chapter will be the charity recipient for the 2017 Grape Day 5k, a fundraising fun run-walk-stroll event through historic Downtown Escondido, on Saturday morning, Oct. 7. Event title sponsor is the Palomar Health Foundation while presenting sponsor is the Bergelectric Charitable Foundation.
Event registration is still available. Runners and walkers of all ages and abilities are welcomed. Registration begins at $30 for youth age 17 and under and $45 for adults. A $10 discount on registration is available by entering the letters “CRUSHMS” in the promo code box. For more information, visit www.GrapeDay5K.com.
Proceeds from the Grape Day 5k will benefit the National Multiple Sclerosis Society as well as the Escondido Sunrise Rotary Club’s youth leadership programs and other club programs, including polio eradication and support to the YMCA and Boys and Girls Club. The club also supports a Wounded Warrior program, a Marine Battalion stationed in Iraq and matching grant programs in India, Turkey and Uganda.
This will be the seventh consecutive year the Escondido Sunrise Rotary Club has organized the Grape Day 5k, a kick-off to Escondido’s annual Grape Day celebration, a community-wide event that highlights the city’s history, especially the 19th Century when the region was covered with thousands of acres of vineyards.
The 5k will begin and end at 150 North Centre City Parkway, near the intersection of West Grand and South Orange avenues in Escondido. Day of registration begins at 6:30 a.m., and the race starts at 7:30 a.m. More than 1,000 runners and walkers are expected to participate. Participants will receive a commemorative medal, moisture-wicking sport shirt and other items.
This will be the fourth consecutive year for the National MS Society’s selection as the benefitting charity. Over the past three years, Escondido Sunrise Rotary Club officials said more than $50,000 has been raised to 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.
“The Escondido Sunrise Rotary is proud to support the National Multiple Sclerosis Society and our community,” said Jim Ponder, Grape Day 5k chairman. “We are especially grateful to the Palomar Health Foundation and Bergelectric Charitable Foundation for their support. We encourage people of every age and ability to join the fun and support these great causes.”
Established in 1980, the Escondido Sunrise Rotary Club is dedicated to the Rotarian values of “service above self” and “world peace and understanding.” The club consistently ranks among the top Rotary Clubs in San Diego and Imperial counties in per capita giving. For more information about the Escondido Sunrise Rotary Club, visit www.EscondidoSunriseRotary.org.
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. For more information about the National MS Society’s Pacific South Coast Chapter, visit www.MSPacific.org.