Teens support teacher at Walk MS

A group of about 200 Freehold High School students took to the pavement April 13 to walk to help create a world free of multiple sclerosis (MS). The students were part of the Freehold High School MS Walkers team during the 20th anniversary of Walk MS. Freehold High School Spanish teacher Rennie Rankin is the captain the team and a large part of why the students walk, according to a press release.

After Rankin was diagnosed with MS in June 2003, she started her Walk MS team. The school and students rallied behind her and the team grew from just a few individuals to more than 250 people. This year the students are on target to raise $30,000 and since 2004 the Freehold High School MS Walkers will have raised more than $100,000.

"We had the biggest turnout ever and the team comprised probably three-quarters of the Freehold Walk MS site. I have a core group of students who have been amazingly dedicated to this cause and to me, and I especially have a group of seniors who will be graduating and leaving me soon. I will be very tearful when they leave me, and would be even more so, only that some will be at Rutgers next year. We have already talked about me renting a van and having them all wait outside their dorms for the Rankinmobile to pick them up on the morning of the Walk MS next year," Rankin said.

The Freehold High School MS Walkers' team goal is to raise awareness of MS and to make positive contributions in the lives of those who have MS.

"That is exactly what the Freehold High School students have done. It is a comforting thought to know that these students are our future leaders," said Michael Elkow, Mid Jersey Chapter president.

MS is a chronic disease of the central nervous system for which there is no cure. MS interrupts the flow of information between the brain and the body and can stop people from moving. For some, this means living with unpredictable symptoms that can come and go, like numbness and blurred vision. For others, there is more permanent damage, like paralysis, according to a press release.