— FOR SKIERS, BOARDERS AND TELEMARKERS OF ALL AGES AND ABILITIES —

Can Do MS

A national nonprofit organization, Can Do MS is a leading provider of innovative lifestyle empowerment programs that empower people with MS and their support partners to transform and improve their quality of life. Visit www.mscando.org.

• News
• The Can Do MS Story
• Can Do MS's Lifestyle Empowerment Programs
• Where is Can Do MS?
• How is Can Do MS Funded?

News

We're proud to introduce Can Do Multiple Sclerosis, formerly The Heuga Center for Multiple Sclerosis, a leading provider of innovative lifestyle empowerment programs for people with MS and their support partners. Since Jimmie Heuga founded our organization in 1984, his positive can do philosophy has helped thousands of people living with MS discover what is possible with MS.

We changed our name to best reflect our mission and our passion to help more people with MS and their support partners use the power of health, wellness and positive motivation to discover THEY ARE more THAN THEIR MS.

Join us as we lead our organization's vision into the future and expand our commitment to help more people live their best lives.

Visit www.mscando.org to learn more about Can Do MS.

The Can Do MS Story

“Focus on what you can do.” – Jimmie Heuga
Campaign Fundraising and Public Education Director for the Jimmie Heuga Center Endowment

Jimmie Heuga grew up near Lake Tahoe and started skiing at the age of two. He began competing when he was five years old and, at 15, he was the youngest man ever named to the U.S. Ski Team.

In 1964 Heuga stunned the international skiing community when he took the bronze medal in slalom at the Winter Olympics in Innsbruck, Austria. Billy Kidd finished second, just a heartbeat ahead of Heuga and together they became the first American men to earn Olympic medals for Alpine skiing. In 1967, Heuga finished third in point standings in the World Cup giant slalom and was the first American to win the prestigious Arlberg-Kandahar race in Garmisch, Germany.

Heuga began noticing symptoms of what would later be diagnosed as multiple sclerosis (MS) in the spring of 1967, experiencing vision problems and numbness in his extremities. After competing in the 1968 Olympics, he joined the professional racing circuit, still hindered by mysterious symptoms. In 1970, he finally received an official diagnosis of MS. He was 26 and at the peak of his skiing career.

When he was diagnosed, he was advised to avoid physical activity at the time of his diagnosis. Heuga founded The Heuga Center for Multiple Sclerosis, now Can Do Multiple Sclerosis™, in 1984 to challenge conventional medical advice and share his program of physical activity, goal-setting and psychological motivation that improved his physical condition and outlook on life and MS. He has spent years sharing and teaching the principles that transformed his life from one of despair to one of health and well-being.

Today the whole person philosophy and approach that Jimmie pioneered 25 years ago is acknowledged within the MS community as a standard of MS care. Heuga’s achievements in MS include:

• Founded The Heuga Center for Multiple Sclerosis, now Can Do MS
• Honored by the National Multiple Sclerosis Society
• Honored by the Texaco Star Award
• Honored by the President’s Council on Physical Fitness
• Inducted into the World Sports Humanitarian Hall of Fame
• Inspiring people and families living with MS

Heuga was appointed the first campaign fundraising and public education director for the Jimmie Heuga Center Endowment. In this outreach role, Jimmie raises awareness and solicits contributions to support Can Do MS’s lifestyle empowerment programs and services now and in the future. Heuga lives in Louisville, Colo. He travels on behalf of Can Do MS’s programs and fundraising events, speaking about how he overcomes his challenges of living with MS. He exercises daily in the gym by swimming or bicycling on a custom-built, hand-pedaled tricycle.

“I’m not sitting here languishing, waiting for a cure,” says Heuga firmly. “I am dedicated to maintaining my overall health so I’ll be ready for one when it happens, sure, but also because it helps me live the best life possible with MS.”

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Can Do MS Lifestyle Empowerment Programs

Overview
Can Do MS, formerly The Heuga Center for Multiple Sclerosis, is an innovative provider of lifestyle empowerment programs for people with MS and their support partners. A national nonprofit organization, we empower people to move beyond their MS by giving them the knowledge, skills, tools and confidence to adopt healthy lifestyle behaviors, actively co-manage their disease and live their best lives.

Who do we serve?
The organization has helped thousands of people living with MS transform challenges into possibilities in health and life. In 2008, we provided programs and services to more than 10,000 people.

How were we started?
Can Do MS honors the legacy and beliefs of the organization’s founder, Jimmie Heuga, a pioneer in the MS care management field. Heuga embodies a positive, can do philosophy and perspective that complements the traditional medical model and standard of care to address people’s mental, physical and emotional needs. Since 1984, we’ve been at the forefront of promoting the culture and belief that everyone living with MS has the power to live full lives.

What do we offer?
Our approach is rooted in a uniquely empowering whole person, whole health, whole community philosophy to maximizing health and living with MS. Can Do MS offers a range of individualized experiential learning formats, including multi-day workshops, weekend seminars, online resources and peer support programs. We compassionately equip individuals with the expanded knowledge, skills, awareness and confidence to become active co-managers of their health. We enhance and complement traditional models of care by focusing on the physical, interpersonal, emotional, intellectual and spiritual aspects of living with MS.

The organization offers three principal programs:
CAN DO® Program—The flagship CAN DO program is an intensive educational program that teaches people with MS and their support partners how to take charge of their lives within the context of their MS. The five-day program goes well beyond traditional health and wellness programs by using a comprehensive spectrum of assessments, active-learning formats and goal setting to actively empower people with MS and their support partners to live their best lives.

Spouses, family members or friends are encouraged to attend the CAN DO program with a person with MS. Special sessions are devoted to this group of support partners, addressing their needs, goals, concerns and challenges.

CAN DO 2® Program—Because the symptoms of MS fluctuate over time, the two-day CAN DO 2 program gives the CAN DO program's participants a way to update and modify their personal program and provides renewed motivation for maintaining health and wellness.

JUMPSTART® Program—JUMPSTART is a one-day introduction to Can Do MS’s wellness philosophy for people with MS and their support partners. Offered at no charge, JUMPSTART provides educational presentations, workshops and interactive sessions so participants can begin to see themselves beyond the challenges of their MS.

Who’s part of the Can Do MS network of professionals?
Can Do MS has a network of more than 100 health care professionals from around the U.S. and Canada, including exercise physiologists, nutritionists, neurologists, physical and occupational therapists, physicians, psychologists, speech/language pathologists, registered nurses and other health care specialists. Our health care professionals are dedicated to teaching people with MS and their support partners how to take control of their lives and health by focusing on what they can do and live their best lives.

How do we collaborate?
We also work collaboratively with many MS care providers and organizations around the U.S. and Canada to provide our lifestyle empowerment programs where they’re most requested and needed. In 2009, Can Do MS formed a collaborative partnership with the National Multiple Sclerosis Society to align resources and more effectively improve the quality of life of people with MS and their support partners. We are also members of the Consortium of MS Centers and MS Coalition. The MS Coalition is an affiliation of independent MS organizations dedicated to the enhancement of the quality of life for all those affected by MS.

How have we been recognized?
Can Do MS earned four stars, the highest rating possible, for the second consecutive year from nonprofit evaluator Charity Navigator for our ability to efficiently manage and grow our finances. We were in the top 18 percent of the 5,000 nonprofits evaluated by Charity Navigator in 2008. We’re members of the Combined Federal Campaign (CFC) and have obtained certification from the Better Business Bureau’s Wise Giving Alliance.

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Where is Can Do MS?

Can Do MS is a national 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization with offices based in Edwards, Colorado.

How is The Heuga Center Funded?

Can Do MS is a 501(c)(3), nonprofit organization funded through individual contributions, corporate donations and grants, as well as special events such as the Vertical Express for MS, Can Do MS Golf Tournament, Skate-A-Thon, Winter Wine & Ski Expo, Alpen Wine Fest, New York Autumn Benefit, and others.
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