The group meets the second Tuesday of each month from 4 to 5 p.m. at Independent Living, 113 Main St., Batavia. For more information please call 1-800-344-4867 or e-mail megan.vaughan@nmss.org.

Hundreds of walkers from the Batavia area will hit the pavement on Sunday May 5 hoping the payoff is a cure for multiple sclerosis. Nearly 350 walkers are expected to turn out for Walk MS Batavia, with a goal of raising $36,000 for the National MS Society Upstate New York Chapter.

The chapter is holding Walk MS in 19 communities this spring, with an overall goal of more than 11,000 participants and $1.4 million. Funds raised will support direct services for the more than 12,800 people with MS and their families in Upstate New York and research to find a cure for this chronic disease of the central nervous system.

The rate of diagnosis in Upstate New York is about double the national average. In Genesee County alone, there are more than 110 people living with MS. The disease affects more than 2.1 million people worldwide. Most people with MS are diagnosed between the ages of 20 and 50, with at least two to three times more women than men being diagnosed.

Walk MS Batavia begins at Dwyer Stadium with registration at 9 a.m. and a kick-off ceremony at 9:45 a.m.

People can participate in Walk MS Batavia individually or as a team, and can choose from route lengths of one, two and four miles. Folks can register for Walk MS in advance online, or on site the day of the event.

What: Walk MS Batavia

Where: Dwyer Stadium, 299 Bank St.

When: Sunday, May 5; registration 9 a.m.; walk starts 10 a.m.

How: Participants can register on site the day of the event or online at walkMSupstateny.org