Volunteerism has been part of the lives of many Class of ‘63 guys and in recent years I have become aware of one of our classmates who has some remarkable efforts in this area.
Dave Britz has been volunteering and raising money for the MS Society since 1995.
So, after some prodding on my part Dave agreed to visit with me about his efforts with the MS society.
Dave is not done, all though he is not doing the ride next year he will be at the various stops to support the riders and MS going forward.
Reaching out to help others for 25 years—-what a great effort and story. Thank you, Dave Britz.
Following is a brief recap of some of the events and results from Dave’s efforts on behalf of the MS Society.
Tom Troskey
The year Dave Britz turned 50 (1995) he decided to sign up for a five day three-hundred-mile bike ride for the Multiple Sclerosis (MS) Society, called The Ride Across Minnesota (TRAM). The disease affects the central nervous system, interrupts the flow of information within the brain, and between the brain and body. Symptoms range from numbness and tingling to blindness and paralysis.
He did not know anyone with this devastating disease and wanted to get back into better physical shape. So, after reading the daily articles in the St. Paul Pioneer Press newspaper on this ride in the previous couple of years, he signed up to do it. He also bought a new bicycle as his old one (a three speed K-Mart blue light special) was in bad condition.
Dave started raising money and to his surprise raised $1,175.00 his first year. Throughout the next years, 25 to be exact, he has raised an impressive $203,842.00. The money is used in research and providing programs and services to help people with MS and their families move their lives forward. In 1995 there was only one drug on the market, and now there are over 20 drugs with more on the way, thanks to research.
He also started keeping track of his daily bicycle miles, and over those twenty-five years his total is 27,450 miles.
Each of the 25 years of TRAM has taken a different route in the State, going on secondary roads and bike trails. The small towns they went through or overnighted in, the scenery, hills and valleys, hot sunny days along with those rainy ones. The people he has met along the way, some who have MS; the support volunteers and the MS Staff.
In 1995, his first year of TRAM, he knew no one with Multiple Sclerosis. Since then he has kept a list (Dave’s “MS Saints”) of those he has come in contact with and that number totals just over 300 individuals today. He says that is his driving force to raise money for this cause. Oh, he carries the list in his wallet and looks at it every so often as a reminder of this quote: “It’s not what you do in life, it’s what you do in life for others”.
In February 2013, the National Multiple Sclerosis Society awarded Dave the Norman Cohn Hope Award. This award is the highest National MS Society award, awarded by the National Board of Directors.
Dave has also volunteered countless hours doing just about everything. He has supervised a Rest Stop at the annual walk, worked at the Muck Fest, and the other events, along with giving talks at support group meetings, and worked in the MS Office. He has also ridden in the annual one-day ride and two-day bike rides the MS Society has.