Former ballplayer Dario Pizzano spearheads local fight against MS

It wasn t exactly according to plan But the impact once again was clear and substantial Around the corner from Fenway Park on Sept the only challenge last season the Boston Red Sox got rained out former Malden Catholic baseball star Dario Pizzano was in the back room of Cask n Flagon sports bar decked out in orange alongside an army of at least others Pizzano the director of fundraising for Mission Stadiums for Multiple Sclerosis MS MS had played a leading role with CEO and founder Sam Greenberg in organizing spreadingORANGE Day at Fenway Park an event directed at spreading MS awareness and fundraising by attending the Red Sox-Minnesota Twins contest dressed in symbolic orange and participating in post-game festivities at the sports bar A postponed battle meant a inadequate more graciously donated hours at Cask n Flagon And in the back room Pizzano s cousin brought him a random patron she had met in the restroom who had required her what was with all the orange Pizzano explained the woman about the event She came to tears She s like This is various sort of serendipitous thing because I was here for a weekend I d never been to a Red Sox meeting and it got rained out but it turned positive because my mom passed away from MS I want to get involved Pizzano recalled It was awesome That s exactly why the awareness piece is so fundamental Of discipline the money we raise and stuff is huge But oh my God MS really affected her And it was hard for her and she sought to get involved That s what we do it for In Pizzano a player at the time within the New York Mets organization sought to do something good with his platform He was thinking of waiting until he got called up the big leagues but couldn t wait anymore to advocate for his mother Tracie and all others suffering through or affected by MS Pizzano can talk forever about the impact his parents had on him and his siblings guiding him all the way through living out his dream of becoming a professional baseball contestant In his gratitude he needed to be there for his mother who had been diagnosed with MS in So he became an ambassador for MS MS And three years later he voluntarily took over as director of fundraising It really matters to me he mentioned I have the same level of passion about this that I had about baseball I m all in We ve grown exponentially since We ve raised about million in the last three years and we continue to grow I m now the director of fundraising since and I love doing this stuff There s a lot to MS MS an ambassador plan a MS help group a number of small and big events geared toward spreading more awareness and fundraising for research and more And on Saturday June one of the biggest of such events comes back to Fenway Park The rd Annual spreadingORANGE Day is a major one hosted for the first time on a day the rival New York Yankees come to town A new and mighty ambassador has come to bat for MS MS for this one as Red Sox vice president of scouting rise and integration Gus Quattlebaum who was diagnosed with MS three years ago has eagerly volunteered his efforts Through him MS MS got a primetime challenge to showcase their cause FOX is broadcasting it and Pizzano says reporter Ken Rosenthal s BowTie Cause bowtie will be orange with the MS MS image on it Quattlebaum is on our association and he s awesome the access he s allowed us to have is insane Pizzano reported We were able to get an insane price on the tickets in the bleacher section Our goal one day is to turn the entire Fenway Park orange As of Memorial Day over of those tickets have already been sold Attendees wear orange MS MS shirts to spread awareness get sponsored koozies and sponsored batting practice passes are potentially available Afterward attendees head to the post-game event in Cask n Flagon s orange-decorated back room Pizzano can t speak highly enough of the partnership with the sports bar which has made special drink deals linked to the raffles MS MS runs It also has a specialty drink themed for the night with proceeds dedicated to the fundraising event and it has donated a full buffet in the past Pizzano can t speak highly enough of the event s sponsors either He s stoked for a new partnerships with Wild Sol Alex Bregman and wife Reagan Bregman s salsa company and Flecha Azul Tequila which actor Mark Wahlberg is associated with Both have transformed MS MS s reach along with other notable sponsors Their partnership helps amplify MS MS s mission to assistance families affected by MS and contribute to research efforts stated a MS MS press release MS MS is also proud to recognize the encouragement of additional event sponsors whose contributions help bring spreadingORANGE Day to life Sage Marketing Loomis Sayles Kelly Nissan and Walls of Distinction have each played a vital role in expanding the reach and impact of this year s initiative That appreciation extends much further than whatever proceeds MS MS can fundraise to donate though The money is certainly significant in funding donations toward research at The Johns Hopkins MS Research Center and UCLA Strength MS Research Center as well as direct endorsement for families impacted by MS But every event spreads awareness Awareness brings in more ambassadors a project that has rapidly grown to have about members who are especially advancing in hosting smaller events spreading the word and gaining more corporate sponsors And within it all group strengthens everyone affected by MS It gives everybody that s going through a common struggle a place to find a society Pizzano mentioned That s the thing about the ambassador operation is that all the people we hear from they love connecting with these people that are going through a similar thing When they can come together and have a district that s just what helps I know from experience from my mom It s tough mentally to have to deal with something like that He continued Whenever we have a new ambassador we have a person we ll invite on as a guest to share their experience at one of our events and we hear how grateful they are about when we give them a scooter or a wheelchair or whatever it is I ll text Greenberg and I ll be like excuse my language This is why we f do it It s amazing It feels so good because we are making such a positive impact I will inevitably be willing to put the work in because I know the impact that it s having And we re just getting started Tickets to spreadingORANGE Day at Fenway Park and other methods to contribute to the cause can be unveiled at https ms ms org spreadingorange-day-at-fenway-park-