Founder and CEO at MS4MS (Mission Stadiums for Multiple Sclerosis)
Welcome to “7 Questions with A Couple,” a monthly series that includes quick conversations with a variety of experts and influencers from throughout the MS community. Now that the Major League Baseball season is well underway, we are so excited to welcome Sam Greenburg. Sam is the founder and CEO at MS4MS who is going the distance to make a difference and improve the lives of people living with MS. For the past decade, he has followed his passion – this isn’t even his full-time job! – to increase MS awareness at all sports stadiums nationwide while raising money to support families with MS and advance research at the Johns Hopkins Project RESTORE MS Research Center.
1. What led you to develop the idea for MS4MS when you were a senior at Southern Connecticut State University in 2011?
The main motivation to start MS4MS was to honor my grandmother who suffered from MS for over 30 years. While I never met her, her memories were always shared with me from my mom and my middle name “Louis” was even named after my Grandma, “Lois.” Knowing I wanted to make a difference for all of those affected by MS, I decided to combine my passion for sports with my dedication of supporting this cause.
A dream of mine as a kid was to always visit all 30 Major League Baseball stadiums. I decided that after school I was going to make this dream become a reality, while wearing orange to raise awareness of MS, while raising funds to support the cause. Ten years later, the MS4MS brand has been to over 24 MLB stadiums and the organization has evolved into so much more than I could have ever imagined… in the best way possible.
2. Since its beginning, you’ve branched out into sports stadiums beyond Major League and Minor League Baseball Stadiums. Did you envision that this is where your organization would be a decade later?
As I just mentioned, I started MS4MS with the focus on baseball stadiums; however, when I started to share this idea with my friends and family in the very beginning people were always saying, “What about soccer? What about basketball? What about football?” I’ve always been the type of person to really listen to others and adapt my own ideas to include as many people as possible.
While I wouldn’t say in the very beginning I expected it to grow into all sports and all entertainment, I know that by listening to others and letting MS4MS evolve, we have been able to have a greater impact on the cause and all those living with MS. I’m so excited that this is truly only the beginning for MS4MS.
3. Why did you choose Johns Hopkins Project RESTORE Multiple Sclerosis Center to be the MS4MS beneficiary? What was it like for you when Johns Hopkins neuroscientist Dwight Bergles recently won the Barancik Prize for Innovation in MS Research?
We chose the Johns Hopkins Project RESTORE MS Research Center as our main beneficiary because of their reputation in the field of MS research and their willingness to welcome our team into their family. Personally, I moved down to Maryland in 2014, and I immediately reached out to Hopkins to develop a relationship with them and learn about their work in the MS field. Meeting with Dr. Calabresi in the beginning and learning about their focused work on the regeneration of the myelin sheath with the goal to have that be the cure for MS, I know I wanted to support them in any way possible.
Hopkins is also very unique in that they collaborate with other MS research centers across the country. They know that in order to cure MS, everyone has to do it together. While our money is only going to their research center and families affected by MS, we know it is having the greatest impact possible because of their relationships across the country, and world. Seeing one of their top researchers, Dr. Dwight Bergles, win the Barancik Prize wasn’t a surprise to our team. We know they are on the cusp of something incredibly special, and this award was just more recognition of what we know they are doing. It was very deserved! We can’t wait until one day saying they found a cure for MS!
4. Fundraising for MS research is a huge mission for MS4MS. But you also have built a huge ambassador community of professional athletes and people living with MS. What do you hope this says about the organization?
Donating to research is an incredibly important aspect of what we do, but spreading awareness of MS and making all those living with MS not feel alone is just as important. By building our team full of MS Warriors, it allows for them to individually connect with others impacted by MS while sharing their own experiences. MS has the potential to make someone feel like there is no hope, while isolating them from the world.
Our goal is to make sure all MS Warriors know they are not alone and have a great support system in place here at MS4MS. Whether they want to connect with an ambassador, go to a game and spread awareness, or simply follow our social media to make them smile, we want to be that positive resource for all MS Warriors to support their fight.
5. We’d be remiss if we didn’t congratulate you on your recent marriage to your wife, Amanda! Did she know what she was getting into with your role as the founder and CEO of MS4MS?
Thank you!! This past year has obviously been crazy for everyone, but I feel like Amanda and I have certainly made the best of the weird situation. Getting married, buying a house and getting a dog all in the same year. It has been a whirlwind! Fortunately, while Amanda may not have known “exactly” what she was getting into, she couldn’t be a better support for me. She has taken this mission on her shoulders as well. She is always sharing ideas to make the organization bigger and better, while helping more people. I feel very fortunate to have her by my side and have her unconditional support of MS4MS!
6. If you could spread orange anywhere, what is your dream stadium?
I feel very fortunate to say that my dream stadium of #spreadingORANGE is one that we have already been to! Growing up a huge Yankees fan, after starting MS4MS I dreamed what it would be like to have an event at Yankee Stadium. In 2019 we had over 100 people in the stands wearing orange shirts, spreading awareness and we even got on the field before the game to make a greater impact standing right next to the players! Since we were able to have that event, my next goal is to have a MS awareness day with ALL of Yankee Stadium and get 55,000 people wearing orange to support the cause. That is the new dream!
7. What’s next for Sam Greenberg and MS4MS?
Every day I wake up and think about how I can make a greater impact through MS4MS and help more people who are affected by MS. This disease is so unpredictable for all those impacted, and we are not going to stop until there is a cure for all MS Warriors. We are going to continue to use our sports platform to spread awareness, raise funds and support the Warriors. I can’t wait to get back to our in person events and expand our impact into the entertainment industry through music, movies and theatre.
The possibilities are endless with how we can use our platform to support this cause and we know that together, with our partners at Johns Hopkins, we will help them find a cure for MS. In the meantime, we are going to continue to raise money, spread awareness and make sure that no MS Warrior feels alone during their fight. For anyone who wants to get involved with MS4MS, or learn more about our organization, make sure to visit MS4MS.org! Thanks Dan and Jenn for giving me the opportunity to share the MS4MS story. You both are the definition of MS Warriors, and I can’t wait to see you both back on the field at Comerica Park soon!
Glory days: Our Facebook Live video with Sam during the 2019 MS4MS event at Comerica Park in Detroit