The MS Society provides services to people with multiple sclerosis and their families and funds research to find the cause and cure for this disease. We have a membership of 17,000 and are the only national voluntary organization in Canada that supports both MS research and services. Since our founding in 1948, the core support of the MS Society has been from tens of thousands of dedicated individuals, companies and foundations in communities across Canada. The Society receives almost no funding from government. Some 1,500 volunteers serve on MS Society national, division and chapter boards and committees. An estimated 13,500 women and men are volunteers for service programs, fundraising events, public awareness campaigns and social action activities.