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Bernie & Phyl's Furniture's Co-Founder Featured In MS Awareness Week Public Service Annoncements

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Bernie & Phyl's Furniture announced that Phyllis (Phyl) Rubin, the Co-Founder of Bernie & Phyl’s Furniture, is starring in a series of multiple sclerosis public service announcements, which will begin airing today during national MS Awareness Week.  Phyl Rubin has battled multiple sclerosis for nearly 40 years, and has gone public with her story in hopes that it will help others, increase awareness of multiple sclerosis, and raise much needed funds to find a cure for MS.  Multiple sclerosis affects over 2.1 million worldwide including more than 400,000 people in the U.S. and 16,000 people in MA, NH, and VT.  Donations can be made to the “Phyl Fund” at http://main.nationalmssociety.org/goto/PhylFund. 
 
Phyl will also receive the national “MS Hope Award” from the National MS Society, Central New England Chapter at their MileStones Gala on May 20, 2010 at the Westin Boston Waterfront in Boston.  She is being honored for the inspirational life she has led – as an entrepreneur, businesswoman, community benefactor, wife, mother, and grandmother – despite living with MS for so many years.
 
Phyl co-founded Bernie & Phyl’s Furniture with her husband Bernie Rubin in 1983 and helped build it into one of the largest furniture retailers in New England and one of the top 100 furniture stores in the country.  Bernie and Phyl have been married for over 50 years, and have raised three children – Larry, Rob, and Michelle – all of whom work in the family business.  They have 10 grandchildren.  Phyl (and Bernie) have also received many awards for their ongoing philanthropic endeavors and community involvement over the years. 
 
Phyl had her first MS attack in 1971, but wasn’t diagnosed until two years later when she lost permanent sight in her left eye.  In those days, MS was a very difficult diagnosis to make – and there were no treatments for the disease. 
 
“There are times when it’s been frustrating like when I couldn’t do even the simplest task like brushing my own hair.  But I’ve always had the philosophy that you make the best of what you have.  Getting MS was something I couldn’t control, so I decided early on I wouldn’t let it stop me from living a full life,” said Phyl Rubin. 
 
MS is an unpredictable and often disabling disease of the central nervous system that interrupts the flow of information within the brain, and between the brain and body.  The progress, severity, and specific symptoms of MS in any one person cannot yet be predicted, but with advances in research and treatment it may be possible to eradicate MS.
 
“While I’ve had many tough years with MS, I have been fortunate that some of the new medications developed in the past decade to treat MS have helped me control my symptoms,” said Phyl. “But more needs to be done.  I hope that by sharing my story, others will be motivated to donate to the National MS Society (http://main.nationalmssociety.org/goto/PhylFund) and join me, Bernie, and my family in our quest to create a world free of MS.”
 
About Bernie & Phyl’s Furniture
Bernie & Phyl’s Furniture is one of the largest furniture retailers in New England.  The family-run business is based in Norton, MA and has six stores in: Braintree, MA; Hyannis, MA; Nashua, NH; Raynham, MA; Saugus, MA; and Westboro, MA.  Bernie & Phyl’s Furniture has received the prestigious Better Business Bureau Local “Torch Award for Excellence” three times (2009, 2007, and 2004), which is given to companies that embody the highest ethical standards.  In 2008, the company received the Massachusetts Family Business Award.  In 2002, Bernie & Phyl’s Furniture was named “Retailer of the Year” by the National Home Furnishings Association, which is the highest honor in the retail home furnishings industry.  The company ranks among the Top 100 furniture stores in the country according to Furniture/Today magazine.  Website: www.bernieandphyls.com.
 
About the National Multiple Sclerosis Society
MS can stop people from moving forward in their lives.  The National MS Society exists to make sure it doesn’t.  The organization helps each person address the challenges of living with MS.  In 2008 alone, through the home office and 50-state network of chapters, the National MS Society devoted over $126 million to programs that enhanced more than one million lives.  To move us closer to a world free of MS, the National MS Society also invested over $45 million to support 440 research projects around the world.  Join the movement at www.nationalMSsociety.org.