National Multiple Sclerosis Society – Malini Singh mcdonald

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The Monday after the Climb to the Top of the Rock brings awareness to mind, body and spirit. Yes. This will be a mushy post as I really stepped out of my comfort zone doing this climb.

How so when my life is an open book?

Well, I can talk about theatre and New York City for days on end. I do talk about struggles and how I manage to overcome my fears around them. However, I don’t always talk about my MS. The most you may have heard about it is over the last few months as I raised funds for my Climb with my team, Malini’s MS Busters.

Why do the climb for the National Multiple Sclerosis Society?

1. I don’t see myself as suffering so by speaking about it, I’ve taken control of the disease in my mind. I’m not MS.

2. When I got laid off last year and lost my health insurance, I made three calls: my husband, my best friend and the National Multiple Sclerosis Society. I had to make sure I was able to get my meds. They took care of me so the disease wouldn’t progress and ravage my body.

3. I’m intrinsically lazy (I know that sounds strange) so doing anything strenuous sounds like a bad idea. However, climbing 66 flights of the beautiful Rockafeller Center just seemed really cool and the challenge I needed to keep my spirit strong.

My results:

Built a team of 6 climbers;
Raised $8,024.00; and
I climbed 66 flights of Rock in 27:37

My kudos:

Olivia, Mike, Heather, Daniel and Dena/Amanda for being on my team;
to my wonderful and loving family;
to my team of specialists who made sure I was ready for this climb;
to LT 120 and the Momentum Family;
Michael Providence and Derek Straat; and
to all our supporters.

Final thoughts:

Space then thinning of air then breeze then bright light.
Having a full conversation while climbing with your best galpal, Mandy, passes the time.
Experiencing this beautiful skyline after climbing 66 flights is hella awesome.
Mr. G and I had a moment. Though he didn’t so love that I grew up watching him on TV. He gave me a hug and there’s a pic floating around of us somewhere.

Thank you and onward!

Keeping It Real,

Malini

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March 2, 2015March 2, 2015 by malinism Categories: Random MusingsTags: Multiple sclerosis, National Multiple Sclerosis Society, New york city, rockafeller center Leave a comment

Just in case you didn’t get the memo, there’s 10 days till Christmas and 16 until the end of the year. Egads!

This has been such a great year for me in terms of giving back and all the cool stuff that people are doing. I learned about new platforms of giving as well as wonderful organizations that are doing some terrific work. So I decided that starting today until the end of the year, I am going to share information about organizations that my friends are connected to in order to bring awareness to their causes. I am also going to share some of their projects that may be of interest to you.

First up is ME! My personal charities are the National Multiple Sclerosis Foundation for which I am participating in the Climb for the Cause and God’s Love We Deliver for which I have been volunteering. I will be climbing 66 flights of stairs in Rockefeller Center in March. If you would like to join my team or would like to support the cause, I’d love you on board. You can read my story on The Good News Project called Following My Dreams Through the Valley of the Shadow of MS.

I have also been delivering food for God’s Love We Deliver. It just happened to be the worst days we have experienced weather wise here in New York City. However, how lucky am I to be able to walk and be of service when others are sick and home bound. That’s what I kept fresh in my mind when I was knocking on doors and chatting with these wonderful people.

Happy Holidays!