Eleven individuals who joined together for the 2024 Team Challenge ALS Boston Marathon shows that while each runner completes a marathon on their own, the results of the group can sometimes be so much greater, in so many ways. Overall, the team raised over $190,000 for the fight against ALS.
Paul Seaver, the manager of community engagement and events for the ALS Association who oversees major events in the Boston area, has a personal connection to ALS—having lost his father to the disease in 2013. He shares his story on how raising awareness and funds for ALS became his priority, even before taking on the role professionally.
Since 2021, June 2 has been celebrated as Lou Gehrig Day by Major League Baseball (MLB) in ballparks across the country -- a day to help spread awareness and raise funds for people living with ALS and their families. Here are some of the events happening across the ALS Association to celebrate this legacy that joins together the baseball and ALS communities.
Dana Julian's great grandfather passed away from ALS and is part of her "why" she volunteers for the cause. Read more about how she got involved with the ALS Association.
Motivated by the profound impact of ALS on their lives and families, Alex and Cory decided to use their shared passion for golf, and both their fathers' love of the sport, to make a difference. They envisioned creating an annual event that would raise both awareness and funds for ALS research and support, and with that the ‘100-Hole Challenge to Beat ALS’ was born.
Since 2021, June 2 has been celebrated as Lou Gehrig Day by MLB in ballparks across the country, a day to help spread awareness and raise funds for people living with ALS and their families. June 2 marks when Gehrig became the New York Yankees starting first baseman in 1925—the start of his incredible streak of consecutive games played—as well as the day he passed away from ALS in 1941.
In recognition of National Volunteer Week, we are shining a spotlight on some of The ALS Association’s amazing, dedicated volunteers, and highlighting the incredible work they are doing to support our mission.
The Walk to Defeat ALS® is open to everyone, and fundraising is just one of many reasons people participate. We asked several members of the ALS community to share why they walk, and here’s what they had to say.
Jake met Bill Wechsler during his freshman year in high school in Holliston, MA. Challenged with academic and mental health issues at the time, Jake was referred to Bill who was the school social worker for counseling and support. By the spring of his junior year, Jake had made so much progress he no longer needed the formal counseling he had become accustomed to, but he still frequently visited Bill to spend time talking with him. It was around that same time that Bill was diagnosed with ALS.
Today, in Major League ballparks across the country, fans will take part in the celebration of the second annual Lou Gehrig Day, an event to help spread awareness and raise funds for people living with ALS and their families. And no baseball fan is more excited than Larry Falivena.
Just as ALS did not stop for COVID-19, the Walk to Defeat ALS® did not stop. The simple fact is, we can’t wait for COVID-19 to end before we walk. Instead, chapters across the country have been coming up with innovative ways to move this signature event into virtual spaces, creating new opportunities for our communities to come together in unity to keep building a world without ALS.