WILLIAMS - Recently, the MARS Foundation of Williams pledged its continued fight against Multiple Sclerosis by donating $75,000 for research.
In December, Wayne and Marlene Anderson, founders of the MARS Foundation, presented a check to Mark Davis, Director of Donor and Community Engagement for the Upper Midwest Chapter of the National Sclerosis Society in Des Moines.
Over the past decade, the foundation has raised over $250,000 for research, but the fundraising total for 2011 was its largest contribution so far, said Marlene Anderson.
The Annual MARS Foundation Golf Classic at Lake Panorama National Golf Course in Panora, Iowa, is the only fundraising event that the MARS Foundation holds throughout the year, said Marlene.
"Our friends have been so faithful," she said, adding she is appreciative of the dedicated sponsors who have supported the effort these past 10 years.
The 2011 sponsors included Summit Farms, Thrivent Financial, DeWaay Capital Management, ProPig and 40 other businesses and individuals.
The MARS Foundation was created a little over a decade ago by the Andersons, even though they had been active in the fight since their daughter Margie was diagnosed with MS at the age of 28 almost 20 years ago.
"We said, 'maybe we'll send people to Mars before they find a cure for MS,'" said Anderson.
The golf event brings together friends fighting against a common cause, said Anderson.
"There are so many people who have MS," she said.
Throughout the years, the foundation's fundraising has benefited the Iowa University MS Research Laboratory, the University of Nebraska Neurological Department, National MS Society research, Mercy Clinic RuanNeurology - Ruan MS Center, the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minn. and the Rocky Mountain MS Clinic in Colorado.
Multiple Sclerosis is a disease of the central nervous system and affects the way a person moves, feels and thinks. It interrupts the flow of information from the brain to the body and affects a person's ability to move.
Today, some 4,600 Iowans are living with the disease. More than 400,000 people are afflicted nationally.
MS is a chronic and often disabling disease. Symptoms can range from mild such as numbness in limbs to severe which can result in paralysis or loss of vision. Symptoms result when inflammation and breakdown occur in myelin, the protective sheath of insulation which surrounds the nerve fibers of the central nervous system.
Some symptoms include fatigue, numbness, balance or coordination problems, bladder dysfunction, bowel dysfunction, vision problems, dizziness, emotional changes, depression or spasticity.
The disease is unpredictable and varies from person to person, making it difficult to diagnose.
"The National Multiple Sclerosis Society, Upper Midwest Chapter which includes the state of Iowa, is committed to funding cutting-edge research to stop MS in its tracks, restore function that has been lost and end MS forever," said Mark Davis of the local MS chapter.
The chapter serves as an advocate for people with MS. It also facilitates professional education in addition to providing programs and services to people with MS and their families, he said.
The Upper Midwest Chapter includes the states of Iowa, Minnesota, North Dakota and South Dakota, as well as several counties in Wisconsin and one county in Nebraska.
In 2011, the Iowa chapter contributed $1.7 million to fund local, state, national and worldwide research, said Davis.
The 11th annual MARS Foundation Golf Classic will be held on Aug. 6, 2012 at Lake Panorama National Golf Course, Panora.
