Stichting MS Research celebrates its 40th anniversary

40th anniversary for the Dutch MS Research Foundation

This year, Stichting MS Research is ‘celebrating’ its 40th anniversary. This year’s celebrations are being used by the foundation to give MS research an extra boost.

Resilience

Resilience is the theme of all of this year’s activities. Resilience represents everything and everyone the organisation stands for, including people with MS, caregivers, researchers and donors.

Resilience does not mean that everything goes to plan without a hitch; it means that you power on despite the difficulties.

Each of our 2020 campaigns focus on one of these resilient groups, starting with MS researchers.

Research is key

Resilience is key for researchers in their years of focused and passionate research into MS. As part of our campaign on researchers, we interviewed two Dutch MS researchers on their take on the last 40 years of MS research and what is yet to come.

Doctor Susanne Kooistra, neuroscientist, molecular-cell biologist and MS-fellowship awardee said:
‘People with MS are so resilient. Meeting them gives me the drive to keep going on. Together with my research group I have to, and I will take important steps to move forward. For them.’

Don’t stop thinking about tomorrow

The current focus of the campaign is people with MS. People living with MS need an enormous amount of resilience when dealing with the disease and its daily consequences. The MS Society (UK) very generously agreed to share their incredibly powerful TV campaign ‘Stop MS’. The TV advert was translated and shown on Dutch television. It has also featured on radio, in print and online coverage.

If everyone takes their share it’s possible

Caregivers also require resilience; as is often said, you don’t have MS by yourself. Later in the year, caregivers will also feature in the anniversary campaign. Without donors and caregiver support, the foundation could not exist. For years, loyal donors show their confidence and resilience to make the continuity of the MS research in the Netherlands and abroad financially possible. They also play an important part in the campaign. By sharing their story on why they support MS research, they inspire others to do the same. Hopefully this will lead to this extra boost in research that will make sure there are as few anniversaries as possible in the future.

Authored by Rosa Douw Communications Officer at Stichting MS Research