Help Us Raise Money to Fight ALS

Pardon this intrusion to my regular blogging fare. I'm posting a letter written by Kristen, my spouse. Late last year her mother Vicki was diagnosed with ALS, commonly called Lou Gehrig's Disease. We're participating in a fundraiser for research toward a cure and need your help.

Dear Family and Friends,

As some of you already know, and some are just now learning, my mom Vicki Ullrich was diagnosed with ALS (commonly referred to as Lou Gehrig's disease) in October 2011. This is a cruel and fatal disease, and because so few people are diagnosed with it (about 2 people out of 100,000), there has not been as much research surrounding its causes and there is no known cure.

I'm doing something really exciting to do my part to further ALS research, and I hope you will consider helping me! My husband Blair and I recently signed on to help raise funds to support the Robert Packard Center for ALS Research at Johns Hopkins by participating in the 6th Annual Fiesta 5K and Walk on May 5, 2012. I hope that you can help support me in this important project by contributing whatever you can.

Funds raised from the Fiesta 5K will be dedicated to aggressive scientific research focused on understanding the causes of ALS, investigating effective treatments for it, and finding a cure. Every dollar makes a difference. It is easy to make a donation online using the link below. Whatever you can give will help - it all adds up! I greatly appreciate your support and will keep you posted on my progress. For more information about this volunteer fundraiser and its programs, you can visit the Web site.

If you know my mom from church, school, work, or anywhere else, you probably know her as a thoughtful and dedicated single mother, teacher, and friend. She is the type of person who loves working on projects, being on-the-go, traveling, and normally doesn't sit still for very long. This disease has completely changed her life in a matter of months. My hope is to aid ALS research so that fewer people in the future, whether patients or their family members, have to face such a diagnosis.

Sincerely,

Kristen Ullrich Hodges

To make a donation online, click here to visit my personal page.

If the text above does not appear as a clickable link, you can visit the web address:
http://support.alscenter.org/site/TR?px=1125869&pg=personal&fr_id=1100&et=CPQaF4eSJjHLPlTJxY9RAQ&s_tafId=4010

Click here to view the team page for Team Ullrich

If the text above does not appear as a clickable link, you can visit the web address:
http://support.alscenter.org/site/TR?team_id=4210&pg=team&fr_id=1100&et=SusDwU0XlyNDKkSbJqZ6BQ&s_tafId=4010