F.A.M.S. is a group of families that united to help make the world better for those affected by MS. F.A.M.S is focused on raising funds for the National MS Society, providing a family like support system for those affected directly or indirectly by MS and spreading awareness about pediatric MS.
We conduct fundraisers, solicit sponsors and seek donations on behalf of the NMSS. One hundred percent of the profits collected by F.A.M.S. is donated to the NMSS. Each member of the Board of Directors is a volunteer that donates their time and energy. There is no paid staff at F.A.M.S. Our Board of Directors give their time freely to maintain and improve our website, organize our fundraising team, manage social media accounts, spread awareness of MS and pediatric MS through activism and public speaking, and helps provide support for those who need it.
MS doesn’t just affect the person who is diagnosed. It affects those around them as well. People with MS often need support from their family and friends. The support needed may be physical, emotional or financial. We recognize how important family is in the fight against MS which is why our families joined together to form a larger family unit to battle against MS. F.A.M.S. is a family of its own. Our goal is to help eradicate this disease but also make living with it as comfortable as possible for those affected. Once you join our team, our family, you will experience the joys of helping others and the benefits of a unique support system that understands and cares.
It is estimated that MS affects 2.3 million people worldwide. Approximately 20,000 people in Michigan have been diagnosed with MS. While the disease is more prevalent in women than men and more commonly diagnosed in people between the ages of 20 and 50, it also occurs in children. Though doctors are not required to report patient numbers to the CDC, it is believed that 10,000 children in the United States, under the age of 18, have been diagnosed with MS. It is only in the last couple of years that pediatric MS has started to gain attention. The first drug approved to fight pediatric MS was released in 2018. More needs to be done to study and eliminate MS in children but this can only be accomplished through raising public awareness.
In 2017, the National MS Society invested $40 million in MS research which contributed to more than 360 projects around the world. Another $100 million was invested in providing help to more than a million people affected by MS. That money funded services to connect people with the information, resources and aid needed to allow them to live their best life possible. There are more than 100,000 MS activists working hard to influence legislation and pass new laws to increase the healthcare available, lower and control medical and pharmaceutical costs and provide access to higher quality care.
We can’t do it without your help. Please join our family in the fight against MS.
We conduct fundraisers, solicit sponsors and seek donations on behalf of the NMSS. One hundred percent of the profits collected by F.A.M.S. is donated to the NMSS. Each member of the Board of Directors is a volunteer that donates their time and energy. There is no paid staff at F.A.M.S. Our Board of Directors give their time freely to maintain and improve our website, organize our fundraising team, manage social media accounts, spread awareness of MS and pediatric MS through activism and public speaking, and helps provide support for those who need it.
MS doesn’t just affect the person who is diagnosed. It affects those around them as well. People with MS often need support from their family and friends. The support needed may be physical, emotional or financial. We recognize how important family is in the fight against MS which is why our families joined together to form a larger family unit to battle against MS. F.A.M.S. is a family of its own. Our goal is to help eradicate this disease but also make living with it as comfortable as possible for those affected. Once you join our team, our family, you will experience the joys of helping others and the benefits of a unique support system that understands and cares.
It is estimated that MS affects 2.3 million people worldwide. Approximately 20,000 people in Michigan have been diagnosed with MS. While the disease is more prevalent in women than men and more commonly diagnosed in people between the ages of 20 and 50, it also occurs in children. Though doctors are not required to report patient numbers to the CDC, it is believed that 10,000 children in the United States, under the age of 18, have been diagnosed with MS. It is only in the last couple of years that pediatric MS has started to gain attention. The first drug approved to fight pediatric MS was released in 2018. More needs to be done to study and eliminate MS in children but this can only be accomplished through raising public awareness.
In 2017, the National MS Society invested $40 million in MS research which contributed to more than 360 projects around the world. Another $100 million was invested in providing help to more than a million people affected by MS. That money funded services to connect people with the information, resources and aid needed to allow them to live their best life possible. There are more than 100,000 MS activists working hard to influence legislation and pass new laws to increase the healthcare available, lower and control medical and pharmaceutical costs and provide access to higher quality care.
We can’t do it without your help. Please join our family in the fight against MS.
Our Directors
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Matthew Caplan is a co-founder and the President of F.A.M.S. - Families Fighting Against MS. Matthew was diagnosed with MS in 2009. He was elected to the Board of Trustees for the National Multiple Sclerosis Society in 2017 and was elected the Vice Chair of the Board in 2018. Matthew is a divorce and family law attorney who has been practicing family law exclusively for the past 22 years. Matthew attended and graduated from the University of Michigan in 1992 and Wayne State University Law School in 1997. Matthew enjoys assisting those who need help. Matthew is an avid runner, biker, golfer, and cook, who enjoys spending time outdoors with his wife of 20 years and 16-year-old son. Matthew also volunteers at the William Booth Legal Aid Clinic and serves on the committee for Cookies and Dreams, an annual fundraiser for Camp Make-a-Dream. Matt Caplan - Living with MS
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Cheryl Caplan is a board member of F.A.M.S.- Families Fighting Against MS. Cheryl's husband, Matt was diagnosed with MS in 2009. Cheryl has been involved in the Walk MS for the past five years and has participated in many NMSS events. She is a third grade teacher. Cheryl hopes that we can work together to find a cure for MS Cheryl Caplan
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Torin is a board member of F.A.M.S.- Families Fighting Against MS. Torin has been involved with Walk MS since 2015. Torin is a freshman at Michigan State University. Torin's goal as a board member of F.A.M.S is to find a cure for MS to help his dad and others fighting this disease. Torin Caplan
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Lindsay is a board member of F.A.M.S.- Families Fighting Against MS. I am a member of the FAMS team because I was diagnosed with MS the summer of 2018 at the age of 42. For eight weeks, I could not feel my body and face, but with the help of amazing doctors, family and friends, I am currently on a great path. I am on TYSABRI which has helped control my flair ups and any new lesions from forming. I will not let MS define who I am because most importantly I am a mom, wife, sister, daughter and friend. I will continue to fight for a cure for MS and try to stop this disease from affecting other people. Lindsay Dembs - Living with MS
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Dylan is a board member of F.A.M.S.- Families Fighting Against MS. - I am a senior at Wylie E. Groves High School. I play basketball, run track and enjoy video games. I am hoping we can work to find a cure for MS to help my mom and so many others. Dylan Dembs
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Harrison is a board member of F.A.M.S.- Families Fighting Against MS. - I am a sophomore at Wylie E. Groves High School. I enjoy the Xbox and playing basketball. My goal is to cure the world of MS. Harrison Dembs
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Julie Hirsch is a co-founder and the Vice-President of F.A.M.S. - Families Fighting Against MS. Julie's daughter Stacey was diagnosed with MS in November of 2016 when she was 14 years old. Since Stacey's diagnosis, Julie has been actively involved in Walk MS Detroit, the Michigan chapter of the National Multiple Sclerosis Society, and the Pediatric Multiple Sclerosis Alliance. Julie has made connections with many other parents of children living with MS around the country and world, as well as locally in our community. Julie graduated from the University of Michigan in 1993 and the University of Detroit School of Law in 1996. She is a practicing attorney in the Metro Detroit area, as well as a group fitness instructor. She is active in numerous local and national charitable organizations. Julie Hirsch
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Dr. Ronald Hirsch is a board member of F.A.M.S.- Families Fighting Against MS. Ron's daughter Stacey was diagnosed with MS in November of 2016 when she was 14 years old. Ron has been actively involved in Walk MS for the past two years and has attended numerous NMSS events to support the society. He is a proud alumni of Michigan State University and is a family practice physician in Madison Heights, Michigan Dr. Ronald Hirsch, DO
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Stacey Hirsch a board member of F.A.M.S.- Families Fighting Against MS. She is a freshman at the University of Michigan. She was diagnosed with MS at age 14 in November 2016. Since her diagnosis, Stacey has become a strong advocate and spokesperson both in Michigan and nationally for pediatric MS. She was recently interviewed by Momentum, the national publication for the National Multiple Sclerosis Society, for an article about MS in teenagers, which will be featured in the Fall 2019 edition. She has spoken to school groups about her diagnosis and created an online presentation about Multiple Sclerosis which was displayed in front of the entire Bloomfield Hills High School. Stacey has participated in Walk MS Detroit for the past two years and has attended numerous NMSS events to support the society. Stacey is active in many school and community activities, and hopes to pursue a career in pediatric neurology, focusing on MS. Stacey Hirsch - Living with MS
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Tim Gilder is a board member of F.A.M.S.- Families Fighting Against MS. Tim, a lifelong Metro-Detroiter was diagnosed with Relapsing & Remitting MS in 2004. He has been participating in the Detroit WalkMS event for 10 years and has been a Top 100 fundraiser every year. Tim completed the MS Leadership program through the Michigan NMSS Chapter in 2016. He is co-owner of a wholesale life insurance agency and has been helping families and business owners secure coverage since 1998. Tim has been married to his wife Tammi for 10 years and have a blended family that includes four awesome kids, Tim’s 27 and 29 year old daughters and Tammi’s 16 and 18 year old sons. Tim also volunteers his time for a youth-run charitable organization helping the homeless in Detroit, The Caleb White Project. https://www.linkedin.com/in/tim-gilder-9835816/ Tim Gilder - Living with MS
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Tammi Landry-Gilder is a board member of F.A.M.S.- Families Fighting Against MS. As the former Area Director for the Metro Detroit chapter of the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention (AFSP), Tammi brings nine years of experience working for a non-profit organization and is delighted to be a part of the FAMS Board of Directors. Tammi is a children’s book author, blogger, a regular contributor to the lifestyle magazine, Her View From Home, and has had featured articles in Scary Mommy, The Mighty, and LifePosts, by The Huffington Post. She teaches English as a second language at Berlitz in Bingham Farms, Michigan. Tammi’s hope is that her dream of a world without Multiple Sclerosis will soon become a reality. Tammi Landry-Gilder
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Grant Landry is a board member of F.A.M.S.- Families Fighting Against MS. Grant is a freshman at the University of Michigan. Grant holds a first degree black belt in Taekwondo from the American Taekwondo Association, and was the State Champion in both Creative Forms and Combat Weapons Sparring in 2017. Grant is a member of the Board of Directors of the Caleb White Project (CWP), where he co-chaired the organization’s first ever fundraising walk, THE Walk, in October of 2018. Grant’s passion for helping the homeless has been a driving force in his motivation to become involved in volunteering and striving to make the world a better place. Grant is committed to bringing that same drive and dedication to his work with FAMS. Grant Landry
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Luc Landry is a board member of F.A.M.S.- Families Fighting Against MS. Luc is a junior at Cranbrook Kingswood Preparatory School, where he is a member is the Varsity Swim Team. Luc is a member of the Board of Directors of the Caleb White Project (CWP), where he co-chaired the organization’s first ever fundraising walk, THE Walk, in October of 2018. Luc is a member of the Huron Valley Penguins Swim Club, where he has competed in both the Junior Olympics and the State of Michigan swimming championships. Luc has a first degree black belt from the American Taekwondo Association. Luc’s goal as a member of the FAMS Board of Directors is to work to help create a cure for MS, a disease that affects his step-father, Tim. Luc Landry
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