Celebrating the First Ever Erie Walk to Defeat ALS®

On Saturday, June 26th, our Erie community came together to kick-off the first ever Walk to Defeat ALS® in the area! As teams gathered to walk “their way,” Erie rallied behind the motto, “We are #ALSInThisTogether,” and came together to raise over $31,878 to Unlock ALS, blowing past the original $20,000 goal set for the event!

Cindy’s Crusaders kicked off the walk Your Way in Erie by walking on May 16^th in memory of their beloved Cindy, whose birthday is May 17^th. The team walked with close family and friends along a local walkway. Alicia, Team Captain said, “It was the first time a lot of us had been together in over a year which made it special.”

On Walk Day, Director of Development, Kristi Marsili and Development Associate, Jena McEwen drove up to Erie to join in on the fun! The duo kicked off Walk Day with Team FUNctional, made up from staff members of UPMC, Centers for Rehab Services. The team gathered in the morning at Presque Isle and enjoyed a walk through the park!

The crew then headed over to Team Bond’s Walk for the ribbon cutting of our 1^st official Erie Walk to Defeat ALS®! Team captain, Karen, and the rest of Team Bond took Jena and Kristi on a walk through the woods and then enjoyed a homemade lunch. The afternoon was filled with family, friends, and so many laughs.

But they weren’t done yet! The duo made their way over to Team Dan Tastic to wrap up the day! Dan and Judy rode on an ATV as they led their team through a maze of a Walk route! The team then gathered for a backyard picnic and fun.

At the end of the day, they were absolutely exhausted and ate way too much good food, but Erie teams really know how to have a good time!

Thank you to everyone who shared their pictures to our Google Drive or uploaded them to Facebook, including Rally for Ron’s beautiful tribute to their loved one and Lou’s Team “Can Do” walking from the shores of Lake Erie all the way down in Florida.

Thank you to all who participated and fundraised to support our ALS community. We are truly all in this together as we continue to raise funds, spread awareness, and support ALS families in western Pennsylvania.

If you haven’t yet, please upload your photos to our Google Photo Drive!