Look To The Stars News: Band Against MS Foundation

Clay Walker Donates To Children's MS Center

Tue, 25 Nov 2008 14:30:00 -0000

Country star and multiple sclerosis sufferer Clay Walker and his Band Against MS has made a massive donation to the National Pediatric MS Center at Stony Brook Hospital in New York.

Walker attended a ceremony on November 21 to hand over $100,000 to the Center’s Director, Dr. Lauren Krupp.

“Few people realize that Multiple Sclerosis is in fact the leading cause of non-traumatic disability in young people throughout the world”, said Walker. “When we learned that Dr. Krupp and Stony Brook were the leaders in Pediatric MS research, it was obvious that we should direct our resources their way. These kids are just beautiful.”

Walker was diagnosed with MS in 1996 and established the Band Against MS Foundation in 2003 to fund programs researching a cure for Multiple Sclerosis, as well as programs helping those living with the disease. To date, Band Against MS has raised more than one million dollars.

More information about the Foundation can be found at the Band Against MS website.

Clay Walker Holds Golf Tournament For MS

Thu, 10 Jul 2008 15:30:00 -0000

Written by Tim Saunders

Country music sensation Clay Walker has raised tens of thousands of dollars for a charity he established to help multiple sclerosis sufferers by holding a golf tournament.

The inaugural “Clay Walker Charity Classic” raised over $72,000 on behalf of his non-profit charity Band Against MS (BAMS), a foundation he started in 2003 to find a cure for the disorder and provide support for sufferers.

“Our first BAMS Charity golf event was more successful than we could have hoped for!” said the singer, who was diagnosed with MS in 1996. “Not only did we raise over $72,000 for BAMS, but we all got to spend three days in the California sunshine on the greatest golf courses in the world – we are thrilled to announce that our inaugural tournament was a huge success.”

The event included three days of golf at Spyglass Hill, Spanish Bay and Pebble Beach Golf Links, and also featured a gala benefiting BAMS which included an exclusive concert by Walker and his band.

“It was everything you could dream of and more,” he said. “That I can even be out here playing golf, walking 54 holes after 12 years of having MS. The fact that I’m still able to be athletic and do the things I love. That’s one of the reasons why I wanted to do a tournament. It’s about getting the message out there to others who have the disease that they don’t have to stop doing the things they love to do.”

Walker is also keen to hold another tournament next year.

“I can’t wait to come back,” Walker said. “I’d been looking for a way to give back in the biggest way possible. Pebble Beach is one of the most beautiful places in the country. I’m just grateful to be able to raise awareness and funding for a disease that affects so many. It was a spectacular week.”

Clay Walker And Montel Williams Team Up Against Multiple Sclerosis

Fri, 29 Feb 2008 10:05:21 -0000

Written by Elizabeth Willoughby

Country music star Clay Walker and his charity, the Band Against MS Foundation (BAMS), have just donated another $25,000 to multiple sclerosis (MS) research.

Last Fall, $25,000 went to the Vanderbilt University Medical Center in Nashville, Tennessee. This time BAMS has donated to the University of Tennessee Health Science Center in Memphis. The money will be put towards continued research into the cause of and cure for MS, a disease that interrupts the flow of information from the brain to the body, and causes symptoms from numbness and tingling to blindness and paralysis.

Walker, who was diagnosed with MS in ’96, created BAMS in an effort to provide information to the public and to fund research on the disease.

“MS is a neurological disease that strikes people in the prime of life and affects approximately 2 million people worldwide,” said Dr. Michel Levin of the University of Tennessee Health Science Centre. “We don’t know its cause, and treatment provides only partial relief. Although there is ongoing research about this disease, the cause has been elusive. By understanding more about it, we will come closer to inventing new therapies, and hopefully, discovering a cure. We are very grateful for the opportunity this gift affords us.”

Talk show host Montel Williams, who was diagnosed with MS in ‘99 and established the Montel Williams MS Foundation with a similar goal to Walker’s, has invited Clay to tape an episode with him this month dedicated to the topic of multiple sclerosis. His mantra is: “I have MS. MS doesn’t have me.”

“Being diagnosed with MS hasn’t been easy,” said Clay on the BAMS website. “[But] I have been blessed to still be able to do the things I love. I know not everyone who is diagnosed with MS is that lucky.”

Clay Walker Plays to Fight MS

Fri, 09 Nov 2007 13:06:53 -0000

Written by Elizabeth Willoughby

Country music star Clay Walker and his charity, Band Against MS Foundation (BAMS), have just donated $25,000 to the Vanderbilt University Medical Center in Nashville, Tennessee.

Having been diagnosed with the disease in ’96, Walker has a personal interest in the success of research into finding a cure for multiple sclerosis (MS). He decided he wanted to contribute by providing information about MS both to the public and to others with the disease, and fund research to find that cure. To enable this, in 2003 he created BAMS.

“Being diagnosed with MS hasn’t been easy. (But) I have been blessed to still be able to do the things I love. I know not everyone who is diagnosed with MS is that lucky,” says Clay.

Multiple Sclerosis interrupts the flow of information from the brain to the body and stops people from moving. The progress and severity cannot be predicted, and symptoms range from numbness and tingling to blindness and paralysis. Most diagnosis occur between the ages of 20 and 50, in over twice as many women as men, and affect more than 2.5 million worldwide.

Says BAMS director Kyle Frederick, “It is very important to remember that MS is the leading cause of non-traumatic disability in young people throughout the world, and the Band Against MS Foundation is committed to helping find a cure.”

Earlier this year, Clay donated 100 aluminum rolling walkers to his local MS chapter, Lone Star, for the annual autumn walkathons that raise money to support MS research. The walkers supplied an extra 100 MS sufferers with the means to participate in the September event.

This Saturday, Walker partners with Texas radio station FM100.3 KTEX to host a benefit golf tournament, and then the same evening will perform in concert, all for BAMS.

Walker and BAMS have pledged two more $25,000 donations to Vanderbilt over the next two years.

Look To The Stars News: Band Against MS Foundation

Clay Walker Donates To Children's MS Center

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