On Sunday, April 29, Susan's Squad made their first appearance at the annual Scotiabank MS Walk in Langley. Susan's Squad is a fundraising team of four lead by Jennifer Schmidt and inspired by MS Walk Langley Committee Chair, Susan Gagnon.
Susan was diagnosed with MS 24 years ago and has been very active in her community to help create awareness around MS. After participating in the MS Walk last year, Jennifer decided to start her own team.
"Susan has always been so helpful in the community and is always there for everyone. I mostly wanted to do this to give back to Susan," Jennifer says.
Jennifer is a self-proclaimed people person, and admits that “fundraising is fun for me”. She had a lot of success fundraising with activities like a hot dog sale during Easter long weekend and now knows to start early so she has more opportunities to reach more people.
Last year, a total of 160 participants, 60 volunteers and fundraising teams like Susan's Squad and individuals helped raise $36,000 for MS Walk Langley. This money is used to fund research for a cure to MS as well as to fund programs to support those living with MS.
The Scotiabank MS Walk Langley took place on Sunday, April 29, 10am at Douglas Park Recreation Centre in Langley.
B.C. has third highest concentration of people with MS in Canada with an estimated 7,300 to 10,000 living with MS.