In recent years Giving Tuesday has emerged as a preeminent day in late November for everyone around the world to commit to charitable giving as a way to give back to those in need during a season defined by giving. On May 5, in recognition of the crisis charitable causes face in the face of the global pandemic and economic shutdown, a new opportunity to come together in support of your community will be held: #GivingTuesdayNow. 

Your help is urgently needed. COVID-19 has compromised access to in-person care for people with ALS, causing added physical and emotional strain for both individuals fighting the disease, and those that care for them. Your help is needed to ensure that we can continue to support people living with ALS and their caregivers with additional respite care, access to telehealth and to meet the growing requests for durable medical equipment.

Tune into The ALS Association’s Facebook page throughout the day as we check in on the fight to find treatments and a cure while empowering people with the disease to live longer, better lives. Every 90 minutes someone is diagnosed with or dies from ALS, and we’ll be checking in every 90 minutes with updates from the frontlines of our fight while raising awareness and critical funds to keep the momentum going. 

Your generosity can provide relief, connection, and hope for families impacted by ALS in so many ways:

• Connection – Technology can keep people connected to friends and loved ones and reduce social isolation, making it possible for a person with ALS to operate a computer, send an email, keep up with social media and explore the internet, without the use of their hands. Your gift can provide much needed connection for individuals with ALS.

• Respite – The impact of COVID-19 has taken a toll on caregivers. Your donation can provide a few hours of professional, in-home healthcare so that a caregiver can take a short-term break and relieve their stress, renew their energy, and restore a sense of balance to their lives.

• Communication – Approximately 75% of all people diagnosed with ALS will need some form of communication assistance. Augmentative communication devices can help people with ALS to communicate after losing their ability to speak. These devices help individuals interact with friends and loved ones and express their medical and emotional needs.

• Equipment – People with ALS typically experience a digression from a normal, healthy life to one of total paralysis in a very short period of time, requiring various interventions to help maintain independence. Your donations help our network of nationwide chapters maintain a durable medical equipment loan closet which provides disease-appropriate items at no cost to families living with ALS.

• Research – Your donations will help fund The ALS Association’s global network of researchers who are searching every day for treatments and a cure for ALS so that one day we will live in a world with this disease.

#GivingTuesdayNow offers the opportunity to use the power of generosity to remain connected and heal. Recruit people in your community to tune in to The ALS Association’s Giving Tuesday Now event on social media at 8:00 AM ET. 

If you want to give back and have the opportunity and means to do so, there are many ways to participate. #GivingTuesdayNow is about giving of all types — some may choose to give a financial contribution or create a fundraiser online, others may choose to reach out to neighbors and friends, join us in virtual ALS advocacy, or just share gratitude to those keeping us all safe. If you can show generosity and share kindness, you have something to give!

It will take place during a 24-hour period of time beginning just after midnight tonight, ending at midnight tomorrow. During this time, those who have the means are encouraged to reach out and support their most important cause in any way they can.

If you would like to participate in #GivingTuesdayNow, you can donate here.  For more information about other ways to give, visit our website.