Foundation News
Place your bids to help find a cure for ALS
Let’s get ready to bid! Online bidding opens Feb. 15 for the Hope Through Caring Gala’s silent auction, with over 150 items including travel experience packages with resort stays in Antigua and Barbados, and a very special painting by Ken Avick, an artist living with ALS. Good news: you can place online bids even if you can’t attend the Gala!
The live auction includes a sports package with tickets to watch all your favorite Chicago teams — the Chicago Bears, the Chicago Bulls, the Chicago White Sox, and the Chicago Cubs. To complete your experience, we are offering a hotel stay and some grilling essentials that will make for an awesome tailgate experience. For concert lovers, bid on a concert package complete with Ed Sheeran and Zac Brown Band tickets!
Don’t miss your chance to bid on these packages and score some amazing deals. All proceeds will go towards ALS research, support, and care for people living with ALS and their families. Keep an eye on your email inbox and follow our social media accounts for updates about our upcoming auction!
You are not alone
The Les Turner ALS Foundation is committed to providing space for people living with ALS, caregivers and loved ones to share their stories, express concerns and talk openly about the struggles that come with ALS.
Led by members of the Foundation’s Support Services team, we offer seven different support groups each month that provide professional guidance and education as well as a deeper level of understanding and emotional comfort along with others who are dealing with the same issues. Groups meet virtually, and the schedule can be found online.
“My wife Ann and I have taken part in the Foundation’s support groups including the ALS support group for people living with ALS like me, and the caregiver support group for Ann, who is also my primary caregiver,” says Ken. “Without Ann’s help, I could not remain at home or have the same joy in my life. Caregiving is hard on her body and her mind. These support groups provided by the Foundation have helped us.”
Young ProfessionALS unite to make a difference
Photo: (left to right: Ryan McGarvey, Sean Fallon and Laura Kunberger – Ryan and Laura, co- chairs of YPG, Sean Fallon, board member)
The Foundation’s Young ProfessionALS Group (YPG) connects young adults who would like to raise money for ALS care and research – and have a great time while doing it, through events like bar crawls and the annual All in for ALS Casino Night.
“My inspiration to join YPG comes from my mom, Catherine McGarvey, who passed away from ALS in January 2017,” says Ryan McGarvey, co-chair of YPG. “Seeing her struggle in her battle and witnessing the impact it had on my family motivated me to become a part of the fight against ALS so no one else would have to endure that struggle.”
Although many YPG members have a personal connection to ALS, anyone who shares the vision of a world free of ALS is welcome to be a part of the group. If you are interested in joining, send an email or check them out on Facebook. The YPG’s NCAA March Madness bracket challenge is right around the corner!
Discussing ALS and Intimacy
If you find it difficult to talk about intimacy with your loved one and ALS care team, this month’s ALS Learning Series webinar is here for you.
Join us on Thursday, Feb. 23 from 12-1 p.m. for “ALS & Relationships, Sex, and Intimacy.” Nurse Consultant & Care Centre Coordinator Rachael Marsden from the Oxford MND Care and Research Centre in the United Kingdom will provide guidance for people living with ALS and their ALS care teams to help start conversations and offer solutions for intimacy and sexual expression. She will discuss how to manage your physical connection with your loved one through adaptations and open communication.
The Les Turner ALS Foundation is proud to offer this webinar at no cost to the ALS community. Thank you to the Gilbert and Jacqueline Fern Foundation and Mitsubishi Tanabe Pharma America for sponsoring this webinar.
Save the Date!
The ALS Walk for Life will return to Soldier Field on Saturday, Sept. 23! Make sure to mark your calendars and lace up your walking shoes for a scenic two mile walk along Lake Michigan and a day full of community, inspiration and hope.
Registration opens soon. Will your team be the first to sign up? We can’t wait to see what you have planned for 2023!
