MS tour hopes to raise $15 million

Suzanne Couchman, who is quarterbacking the Generex/Jaymor Victory Tour for MS 2007, believes in setting her sights and her hopes high.

That includes MS Victory Tour 2007, which she hopes will become an annual event and raise at least $15 million this year alone for MS research and education. The disease afflicts 75,000 Canadians and 450,000 in North America.

"Ambitious? Perhaps. But the cause is right and certainly something Canadians can relate to - no matter where they live," she said at the start of the ninemonth, 10,500-kilometre MS Victory Tour at a special ceremony in Victoria March 3.

The man at the centre is Robert Bertolas, who was diagnosed with multiple sclerosis in 1988 at the age of 19. He's running, rollerblading and biking his way across Canada in this year's Victory Tour.

"There's also a lot of interest in taking the Victory Tour to Europe and the U.S. - but that depends on how this tour unfolds and Robert's health at the end of it," said Couchman. The Victory Tour was one of the reasons she and Robert formed Crossing Bridges Inc. in 2004.

At each stop, Robert spoke to select audiences like MS support groups; school sports teams and running teams, etc., offering his own special brand of hope.

His theme is always the same: "Live your life to the fullest ... anything is possible if you put your heart and soul into it ... when it comes time to size up your life, you won't have to say 'I would have, I should have.' You'll be able to say 'I did.'"

The tour will have stopped at more than 60 communities across Canada. In B.C., they will be visiting numerous cities in Ontario until the end of August.

Bertolas will reach his hometown of Woodbridge Sunday, July 28. Prior to that, he will be biking past Caesar's Event Centre in Bolton at roughly 11:30 a.m. that day.

The cost of the tour, including transportation and traveling expenses for a staff of five, is estimated at $200,000. Roughly 85% of the funds raised from MS Victory Tour 2007 will go either for research, including the Myelin Project, or MS education and awareness.

Myelin is the protective coating around the nerve. Keeping this protective coating is critical in helping our bodies avoid neurological problems. Understanding how the body does this is crucial in unlocking the secrets of multiple sclerosis and other neurological disorders like Parkinson's Disease.

The Myelin Project conducts research in five countries on the repair and reproduction of myelin. Research from this research has already yielded a number of "impressive breakthroughs," Couchman noted.

While the bulk of the money raised from this year's Victory Tour will go for research, a portion will be used to fund an annual scholarship for one or more students entering university keenly interested in doing research in this field.

Bertolas plans to wrap up this odyssey Nov. 25 with a ceremony at St. John's, Newfoundland.

The tour has two main sponsors - Generex Biotechnology Corp. and The Jaymor Group.

For more information, contact Couchman at 519-