WHY I WALK: 

For my dad!!  One of the most humble, kind hearted, selfelss people I've ever known!  He was a handyman, loved to fix anything and everything!  And he LOVED to fish!  My dad was diagnosed with ALS in February 2015.  On March 5, 2016 he lost his battle with this disease.  This marks the 9th year we have participated in the ALS Walk for Life in an attempt to raise money to battle this disease.

I walk because I believe in the work of the Les Turner ALS Foundation, I believe in providing the best possible care to the Chicagoland area ALS patients and their families. I've visited the specialists my dad saw, and I believe in the work that they're doing. I believe that the money we raise together will lead to finding the cure for ALS. I walk to raise awareness!  Join me!!

The Les Turner ALS Foundation’s ALS Walk for Life has raised over $12 million dollars in 15 years and is one of the largest gatherings of the ALS community in the world. The money we raise together goes toward helping people currently living with ALS (PALS) and their families through the Foundation’s Home and Community Services and grant programs. It also supports the Les Turner ALS Research and Patient Center at Northwestern Medicine where PALS are seen by a multi-disciplinary clinical staff at the Lois Insolia ALS Clinic, ensuring no part of their disease goes unseen and untreated. The Center also supports three research laboratories, each one providing hope of a future without ALS

Walk for HOPE. Walk for HELP. Walk for LIFE.

WHY WE NEED YOUR HELP:

Every 90 minutes a person in the US is diagnosed with ALS and every 90 minutes another person loses their battle against this disease. ALS occurs throughout the world with no racial, ethnic, or socioeconomic boundaries and there is presently no known cure. Average costs for living with ALS are in excess of $200,000 per year. (ALS Association 2015, www.alsa.org) A simple donation, even a small one, can make a very big difference to the person on the other end receiving treatment.

A LITTLE GOES A LONG WAY:

The Les Turner Foundation has posted what a donation at various dollar amounts provides:
$25 can purchase ten blood sampling kits for ALS research
$100 covers four hours of respite care for an ALS family
$500 will provide one eight-hour RN visit for patients on a ventilator
$1,000 funds the construction of a customized wheelchair ramp, a home modification not covered by insurance
$2,500 covers safe, reliable, handicapped-accessible transportation to and from the Les Turner/Lois Insolia ALS Center for one year.