National Multiple Sclerosis Society

I know what you're thinking.  I've always said that I don't donate to organizations with a health-related mission.  If there is one thing that most rich governments around the world invest significant financial resources in, it's health research.  In the United States, the National Institutes of Health is one of the largest government research agencies (and is the largest health research agency in the world; find out more about NIH, here).  Lots of worthy causes don't have the kind of support that human health does.

However, I have grown (a bit) in my attitude about health charities.  Many of them do good work, and whether or not the issue is supported by government-funded research, these charities aren't all about finding a cure; they are often about providing support, comfort, or even just friendship to folks who share a funny-shaped chromosome.  Or a funny-acting cell.  Or a funny-operating organ.  The camaraderie which these groups offer the patient can be very valuable, emotionally, financially, or otherwise.  And there are few better ways to remember a lost loved one than by supporting others who might be going through a similar experience.

That's why the Charity of the Week this week is the National Multiple Sclerosis Society.  I have never known someone with multiple sclerosis (or MS), but someone close to me lost someone close to her to MS when they were both very young.  When she mentioned the National Multiple Sclerosis Society as a possible choice for one of my 52 charities, I knew that it would be perfect.  MS is a to date incurable disease that attacks the nervous system.  People with MS can have problems with many of their senses and can struggle to walk.  Symptoms come and go, but the disease is always there, and it can make life difficult for the patient as well as his/her family.  It can be fatal.

The National MS Society has a two part mission:  1) to mobilize people, money, policies, etc. to find a cure and 2) to help address the challenges experienced by people with MS.  The Society has a very large budget of nearly $100 million per year and four fifths of that is used for direct programming through the many chapters that exist in all 50 states.  Importantly, the Better Business Bureaus gives the Society great marks in all 20 categories on which they judge charities.  Find out more here.  I feel comfortable supporting this charity, and maybe after reading up on it, you will too.

Happy Thursday, everyone! -grant