On Saturday, April 25, the ALS Association will host its Tri-Cities Walk to Defeat ALS. The team, ETSU and Friends, will participate for its ninth year in a row to help make a difference in the lives of those affected by ALS.

“ALS stands for amyotrophic lateral sclerosis. It is a progressive motor neuron disease that is always fatal and currently has no cure. And that’s why walks like this are really important, just to continue to raise awareness and funds,” said Courtney Andrews, the team organizer and an assistant professor in ETSU’s Department of Nutrition and Integrated Health Sciences. “All the funds generated for this walk specifically will stay here in our local region to support the ALS Association in their mission of doing research and hopefully someday finding a cure.”

The ALS Association is a national organization and hosts multiple walks across the country, including several in different areas throughout Tennessee. Its funds go to research

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projects with a goal of finding a cure for the disease.

So far, ETSU and Friends have raised around $800 for the walk, while the entire Tri-Cities community has raised more than $23,000.

Andrews previously served as the clinic coordinator for the Gary E. Shealy Memorial ALS Clinic, where she began to organize the team for the walk. The clinic began as a grassroots effort and has since grown into providing multidisciplinary care for those with ALS as one of the few clinics nationwide that doesn’t bill for services.

“Really, the mission is just to continue to improve access to services. Especially for people living in rural areas, it can be really difficult to get all the things that they need,” Andrews said. “From a transportation and physical standpoint, as well as from a monetary standpoint, it’s a very expensive disease to have. So we want to do anything that we can in the clinic to be able to provide things free of charge and hopefully just continue to increase access and bring awareness to the disease in general.”

People can donate or register to join the walk with ETSU and Friends at secure2.convio.net/alsa/site/TR?fr_id=17264&pg=team&team_id=424466.

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