World of Good Blogburst, MS Style

This one's for you, Mog.

Update: Mog gives this a very nice introduction. Be sure to read it. It gives a context to the rest of this post.

Welcome to another World of Good (WOG) entry here at The Scratching Post. This week we mosey on over to the Dakotas to give thanks for the National Multiple Sclerosis Society, North Central States Chapter. Please visit their website and learn how you can join the people whose acts of kindness we will celebrate below.

MS is a debilitating disease of the central nervous system that inhibits communication between the brain and the rest of the body. Cures and treatments are being actively researched and progress is being made. That progress is in no small part due to the work of volunteers who work with people with MS and help in fund-raising.

What are you doing this weekend? If you're anything like me, you've got a list of things to do that exceeds the time you've got. That laundry won't do itself and the screen door broke again. There's a good movie you want to go see and if you can get enough things done during the day, you'll have time on Saturday night to go to the multiplex and see it.

The folks that organize and host and participate in and clean up after the MS fund raisers have those lists, too. They just choose to make their neighbors with MS a priority for a little bit. MS fund raisers take many forms, but the one most commonly associated with it are the walks. Here are some scenes from walks by this chapter.

Each of these people had something pressing to do this day and they chose to devote their time to others instead.

She didn't do anything to deserve MS, but she got it anyway. Seeing all the other people in these walks makes me want to participate in the next one just for her.

One of the things that struck me in assembling this post was the large number of people participating in the walks. Makes you feel good about your neighbors, doesn't it?

I got choked up when I found this one.

Teaching your children about charity through example. Ya gotta love it.

They skipped the movie and helped others instead. Any bets on which was more fun?
For me, the point of this post was not the heroic nature of the participants. Quite to the contrary, it was the ordinary nature of the participants and the vast number of them. In a world where the news media inundates us with stories of violence and cruelty until we begin to believe that's the way the world is, the reality is quite different. Just look at the number of people particpating and draw your own conclusions.

All photos from the NMSS-NCSS webstie, used without permission.

Our good buddy in WOGs, Joe over at A Tic in the Mind's Eye has his weekly WOG up, too. Check it out!

Susan Walker has a very touching story over at Susan's Blog as her WOG post for the week.

Suggestions for future WOGs are always welcome.

Previous WOGs at The Scratching Post:

WOG, Navy Style
WOG, Aussie Style
WOG, Katrina Style
WOG, Hospice Style
WOG, Boy Scout Style