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.
We are forever grateful for the many volunteers working with us to create a world without ALS. Volunteers like Mike Koehler in Kansas City, Missouri make a big impact. Mike leads the volunteers for all three of their Kansas City events, including a gala, a golf tournament and the Kansas City Walk to Defeat ALS®. He organizes the volunteers and acts as their main point of contact, managing and assigning tasks on the day of the events.
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.
An avid skier, cyclist, and hiker, Father Jim has been a pastor at St. Michael’s Parish in Olympia, Washington for over twenty years. With members of the church community, he has traveled to numerous countries for both missionary work and recreational trips. A few years ago, he began having difficulties with muscle twitches, upper body weakness, and leg cramps. Before long he was diagnosed with ALS.
We recently caught up with Lindsay Litterini, volunteer and board member for The ALS Association Western Pennsylvania Chapter, to learn more about her personal connection to ALS and her passion to join the fight against the disease.
While local conditions for events vary state by state, the priority is the safety and well-being of people with ALS, their families and caregivers, and our volunteers and staff. So while Walk to Defeat ALS® events may look a little different from place to place, the ALS community will creatively come together safely in local markets to honor a loved one with the disease, to remember those who have passed, and to raise awareness and critical fundraising support for the fight against ALS.
We can’t wait for this pandemic to be over to continue serving and supporting our communities. Here are 7 things you can do right now to support people living with ALS.
An ALS diagnosis is not only devastating to the person receiving it, but to their entire family, and kids are all too often the collateral damage. The disease forces many kids to pitch in as caregivers and often delay their educations. Kids who serve as caregivers often talk about feeling isolated and unsupported by their peer groups.
