June is ALS Awareness Month, which means cities across BC and the Yukon will be hosting their annual Peoples Drug Mart Walk for ALS, the signature fundraising event for the ALS Society of BC and Yukon. The city of Surrey is among the cities hosting this Annual event and, with a fresh young committee, the 2016 Surrey Walk for ALS, held on Saturday June 18 at 11:00 am at Bear Creek Park, promises to be unlike any other previous Walks held in Surrey.
Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS), or Lou Gehrig’s Disease, is a rapidly progressive, neuromuscular disease. It attacks the motor neurons that transmit electrical impulses from the brain to the voluntary muscles in the body. When they fail to receive messages, the muscles lose strength, atrophy and die. ALS can strike anyone at any time, regardless of age, gender, or ethnic origin. It does not affect the senses, and only rarely does it affect the mind. Life expectancy is typically 2-5 years after diagnosis, and there is no known cause or cure for ALS, yet. There definitely is hope.
To date, there has been approximately $330,000 in funds raised from the Surrey Walk for ALS alone, a staggering number for a disease that requires $137,000 in equipment costs alone PER PATIENT; caregiver support is an essential expense, and roughly totals the same amount in additional cost, estimated at $140,000. 100% of all proceeds go towards supporting those who are afflicted by ALS, with 60% of all proceeds allocated towards equipment costs, and 40% allocated towards research, and eventually finding a cause and cure for ALS.
Currently there are 34 patients in the city of Surrey that battle ALS; as this number accounts only for patients, it does not include the countless friends, family and caregivers of those battling this debilitating disease. In other words, the actual number of members in the Surrey community who are affected by ALS is in the thousands. In 2015, 252 individuals attended the Surrey Walk for ALS, with funds raised totalling $520,000 across BC and the Yukon; a humbling figure, but we can do better.
This Walk is on pace to exceed the fundraising dollars raised in 2015 as well as exceeding the number of participants at the Walk. Working hard to create a Walk that is not a somber event, but rather a celebration of life, the Committee is humbled to have the support it has had thus far, with Global News Meteorologist Mark Madryga as their emcee. “There is no known cause or cure for ALS, yet. But it is due to the time, effort, commitment, and dedication of so many volunteers and members of the Society that we are still going. Most importantly, it is due to the support of all those that attend our Walk, that there is hope. Your dollar, or your friend’s dollar, or your co-worker’s dollar, could be THE dollar that finds us a cure for ALS.”
