We Walk to Support

Care Services

Money raised through the Walk to Defeat ALS^® helps to support vital care service programs to help improve the quality of life of those battling ALS. Our chapter’s experienced team of care coordinators offers a variety of services for people living with ALS and their families. Through care management, assistive technology, a medical equipment loan program, respite care, support groups, and multidisciplinary ALS clinics, we provide essential assistance for patients and their families at every stage of the disease.

• On-going, in-home consultation and home assessments by patient service staff
• Mobility and home adaptation programs
• Durable medical equipment loan programs
• Speech evaluations and communication device programs
• Support groups for people with ALS, caregivers, families, and survivors
• Our 48 Certified Treatment Centers and 118 clinical partnerships around the country ensure that people with ALS receive the highest standards of multidisciplinary care
  

Learn more about our Chapter's Care Services resources

Research

The ALS Association directs the most comprehensive ALS research program ever organized and has committed more than $106 million to date in the quest to find a treatment and a cure. Because of the support of foundations, corporate partners, and individuals just like you, we can continue to make great strides toward the day when ALS is a disease of the past.

• Our research is performed in laboratories worldwide:  United States, United Kingdom, Belgium, Germany, Canada, and more
• The ALS Association has 147 active projects in our portfolio
• Ice Bucket Challenge funds committed to date directed at research projects exceed $18.5 Million, but these numbers quickly change as we have several programs in progress
• For the first time ever, scientists whom we funded identified an ALS biomarker in the blood that may lead to monitoring the progress of the disease through a simple blood test
  

Learn more about exciting Research

Public Policy

Your support for the Walk to Defeat ALS® is making a difference across the country, including in our nation’s capital, Washington, DC. That’s because funds raised by the Walk enable us to tell the ALS story on Capitol Hill and enact policies that advance ALS research, expand access to care, and improve the lives of people with ALS and their families nationwide. In fact, thanks to your support of the Walk, we have:

• Generated more than $950 million in government funding for ALS research since The ALS Association created a Public Policy department in 1998
• Waived the 24-month Medicare waiting period for people with ALS, the only time Congress has ever amended this law
• Made it easier for people with ALS to receive disability benefits by working with the Social Security Administration to issue presumptive disability regulations for people with ALS
• Secured unprecedented benefits for veterans with ALS and their survivors
• Led effort to enact the ALS Registry Act, which created the National ALS Registry and is the largest ALS research project ever created

However, much more must be done in the fight against this horrific disease. So when you’re at the Walk this year, please stop by the advocacy table and sign a letter to your elected officials urging them to support our top public policy priorities; to support people with ALS.

The Walk isn’t your only opportunity to help. In less than two minutes, you can become an ALS Advocate and learn what you can do to make a difference throughout the year. Just visit the Advocacy Action Center of our website, www.alsa.org/advocacy and sign up today. By doing so, you can help increase funding for research, improve care, and truly make a difference in the lives of everyone who has been touched by this disease. Sign up now! and together we can continue to create the roadmap that will lead us to a treatment and cure!

Learn more about our Public Policy Efforts