Fly for MS to Embark on a Record-Making 60-Day, 29,000-Mile Trans-Atlantic Journey for Multiple Sclerosis Awareness
* Reuters is not responsible for the content in this press release.
NEW YORK, NY, Aug 31 (MARKET WIRE) --
On August 31st Fly for MS takes off from New York on a thrilling
humanitarian mission to 30 countries in North America, Europe and Asia
where the team will fly MS patients for treatment, and share the joy of
flying with more than 100 people with MS to raise awareness for the
challenges faced by over 2.1 million fighting this debilitating disease.
Fewer than 300 have flown a small plane for such a distance, and none for
a humanitarian mission, compared to over 4,000 people who successfully
climbed Mount Everest.
The mission will debut with a flight above Manhattan with Tom Clyne of
New York, a representative from the U.S. National MS Society suffering
from MS.
"Using my cane, I'm reminded of my MS with every step I take. Being up in
the air with Andrei and the Fly for MS team, I can be free, even for a
few moments. It's a wonderful and exciting project he's undertaking to
bring awareness to the challenges people with MS experience every day of
their lives," says Tom.
Fly for MS is the brainchild of pilot Andrei Floroiu, a former Wall
Street investor focused on biotechnology companies. In his profession he
realized from interviews with over 600 MS patients and doctors how little
the public knows about MS and recognized the need for a unique event to
inspire compassion and action.
MS patients face harsh realities including lack of services due to budget
cuts and limited availability of proper treatment. Ignorance of MS often
forces people with MS to withdraw from society, hiding an illness poorly
understood.
MS is a debilitating disease that affects 1.5 million people in North
America and Europe alone. The symptoms of MS are cruel and include
paralysis, speech impairment, and blindness. MS typically strikes people
between the ages of 20 - 50 and renders 60% of those touched disabled
over time. MS also affects an estimated 50,000 children globally.
With no known cause or cure in sight, awareness will move MS higher on
government agendas, change employers' attitudes and educate the world how
to help. Awareness has a multiplier effect on future research funding.
"Through this unprecedented journey we aim to expose the contrast between
the ultimate freedom of flying and the limitations of those living with
MS, and reach new, broader audiences that other efforts have not been
able to in the past," says Floroiu.
"As a volunteer driven organization, it is bold, imaginative and
independent projects such as Fly for MS that raise awareness for the
challenges of living with MS and the funds needed to move us closer to a
world free of the disease. The Society certainly encourages this
heart-felt endeavor," says Joyce Nelson, President and CEO of the U.S.
National MS Society.
On certain legs of the tour, MS specialists,
advocates, public figures and journalists will fly along.
Competitions are organized in certain countries for those that want a
flight in the Fly for MS plane and the team will join fundraisers and
awareness events across Europe.
Updates and photographs from the mission will be posted daily at
www.flyms.org, Twitter, and Facebook. For more information visit:
http://www.flyms.org/fly-for-multiple-sclerosis-schedule.html
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Country Arrival Departure
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US 31-Aug
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Canada 31-Aug 1-Sep
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Greenland 1-Sep 2-Sep
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Iceland 2-Sep 3-Sep
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Norway 3-Sep 4-Sep
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Denmark 4-Sep 6-Sep
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Estonia 6-Sep 8-Sep
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Sweden 8-Sep 9-Sep
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Estonia 9-Sep 11-Sep
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Russia 11-Sep 14-Sep
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Ukraine 14-Sep 16-Sep
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Moldova 16-Sep 17-Sep
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Romania 17-Sep 21-Sep
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Poland 21-Sep 23-Sep
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Czech Republic 23-Sep 25-Sep
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Slovakia 25-Sep 26-Sep
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Croatia 26-Sep 28-Sep
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Turkey 28-Sep 30-Sep
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Israel 30-Sep 3-Oct
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Greece 3-Oct 4-Oct
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Austria 4-Oct 5-Oct
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Italy 5-Oct 7-Oct
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Switzerland 7-Oct 9-Oct
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Germany 9-Oct 12-Oct
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Netherlands 12-Oct 14-Oct
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Belgium 14-Oct 15-Oct
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France 15-Oct 17-Oct
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Spain 17-Oct 12-Oct
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Portugal 20-Oct 22-Oct
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UK 22-Oct 25-Oct
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Ireland 25-Oct 27-Oct
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Iceland 27-Oct 28-Oct
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Greenland 28-Oct 29-Oct
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Canada 29-Oct 30-Oct
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US 30-Oct 31-Oct
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Press Contact:
Maria Pulice
917-669-5312
media@flyms.org
Copyright 2010, Market Wire, All rights reserved.
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