“Thank you for reading”, is the message from Multiple Sclerosis Ireland to all the young readers in County Donegal who took part in the MS Readathon last year, raising funds to help people with MS locally.
MS Ireland also extended thanks to the families, schools, teachers and principals who supported them. Last year young readers in County Donegal joined more than 15,000 others across Ireland in the MS Readathon.
MS Readathon is now in its 29th year and the 2016 campaign will open for sign up in September ahead of the reading month, which will run from October 7th until November 7th 2016.
While the world is marking 100 years since the birth of Roald Dahl, MS Readathon remembers when the great children’s author honoured young readers in Ireland to launch the very first MS Readathon.
Roald Dahl
Heading towards 30 years, MS Readathon is a hugely supported campaign that encourages reading and at the same time, raises funds for vital services.
To increase awareness about Multiple Sclerosis for young readers, MS Ireland introduced MS schools ambassadors. People living with MS visit their local schools and talk about the complexity of the condition and the nature of relapses, or attacks when MS symptoms flare up.
The theme for the 29th MS Readathon is all about adventure with a burst of reading ‘helping children to live a zillion adventures in a month’.
Irish authors supporting MS Readathon each year highlight these adventures: “Books … let me step outside my own world for a while and see the world though someone else’s eyes,” says Irish children’s author Sarah Webb. According to Cecelia Ahern, “Reading is the perfect way to get lost in your imagination.”
An estimated 9,000 people have MS in Ireland, with thousands more family members affected.
Multiple sclerosis is a chronic, often disabling disease, the most common disabling neurological condition affecting young adults in Ireland. MS is usually diagnosed between the ages of 20 and 40. There is no known cause or cure for MS.
Young readers can get their reading lists ready by checking the 2016 lists on the www.msreadathon.ie featuring great books for kids from the new to the classics.
For participating schools around the country, the 29th MS Readathon will provide:
>Information leaflets, stickers and posters for each class
>A reading certificate for each participant
>Many fantastic rewards and prize draws
>Up to 10 per cent of funds raised by each participating school may go towards the individual school
MS Readathon is supported every year by Ireland’s authors and illustrators including Sarah Webb, Cecelia Ahern, Oisin McGann, Nicola Pierce, Judi Curtin, Alan Early, Matthew Griffin, Sheila O’Flanagan, Claudia Carroll, Marisa Mackle, and Pauline McLynn.
Ava Battles, Chief Executive of MS Ireland, congratulating young readers in County Donegal comments: “MS Readathon is the key annual fundraising campaign of Multiple Sclerosis Ireland, the only national services, information and advocacy organisation supporting people with MS and their families. We are very grateful for the dedication of young readers, their schools and local libraries to this campaign. Funds raised support vital services, for example the MS Ireland Information Line, enabling one-to-one support for those newly diagnosed, physiotherapy and exercise classes to help stay independent, and respite care.”
Irish children’s author Alan Early advises: “Try reading lots of different types of books … A good place to start is by looking at your own interests. In my opinion, reading is the best time travelling teleporter in the world. Open the page of your favourite book and you are instantly transported to a different place and time, into the mind of a different person.”
“Trust me, there is a story out there that you will love no matter who you are,” assures Irish childrens’ author, Nicola Pierce.
