Frank's Footsteps... One Step at a Time

Reprinted from Frank's Footsteps newsletter,

Volume 2, Issue (December 2008)

The U.S. economy may be struggling, but that didn’t seem to slow down the donations made by family, friends and co-workers of Frank’s Footsteps for the 2008 Phoenix Multiple Sclerosis Walk.

In fact, the combined total of all of their generous donations made it a record year for the group, which brought in $3,334 for the National MS Society, making them the 17th top fundraising team for the event.

For the MS Walk in Phoenix, over 280 teams signed up to take part in the event. Some teams were comprised of only one member while seven others had 50 or more teammates. The biggest team had 188 walkers altogether.

Donations received by Frank’s Footsteps have now reached over $9,000 for its three-year existence as an official team.

The fourteen members of the 2008 team included: Andrew Aranda; Emily, Jason and Captain Susan Dawson; Debbie and Derek Frederick; Andrea and Krystal Morris; Barbara and Chris Pollay; Brenda, Ethan and Mario Remo; and Mark Renteria.

Many of the group’s members have participated for a dozen years in the MS Walk, ever since loved one Frank Tocko was originally diagnosed with the chronic disease that now affects over 2.5 million people worldwide.

The event, which began at 8 a.m. on Saturday, November 8, in Phoenix, was well-attended. In all, more than 4,000 walkers helped raised over $400,000.

The number of total walkers for the event came out to about half the number of individuals afflicted with MS in the state.

Overall, the money raised was approximately $60,000 less than the previous walk in 2007, but considering the current state of the economy, the numbers are still impressive.

With another MS Walk completed, the individual members of Frank’s Footsteps wished to offer heartfelt thanks to everybody who generously provided donations, especially since many have been giving money to the cause for well over a decade now.

The team is named after Frank Tocko, father of four of the teammates and grandfather to five more. He was originally diagnosed over a dozen years ago.

Since then, it has been an uphill battle as he fights the chronic disabling disease that attacks the central nervous system, which is made up of the brain, spinal cord, and optic nerves.

For more information on Frank's Footsteps, or to make a financial contribution to the team, please visit here.