Photo: Jay Willett/WBZ NewsRadio
WAKEFIELD, Mass. (WBZ NewsRadio) — Walking to find a cure one step at a time – that’s what The Angel Fund’s Walk of Hope is all about.
The 24th annual event kicked off Saturday morning at Lake Quannapowitt in Wakefield as dozens of people showed up to raise funds for Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS) research.
ALS, or Lou Gehrig’s disease, is a neurodegenerative disease that slowly reduces muscle and motor functions. Angel Fund President Richard Kennedy is a survivor of ALS himself and were among the participants in the walk.
“I was a physical therapist for years, but unfortunately in 2016, I had to give that up when I was diagnosed with ALS,” he told WBZ NewsRadio.
Now, he utilizes his experience to empower those who have someone in their life or had lost someone to the disease to fight for a better future.
Someone like 95 year-old Bill Brown, who lost his wife to ALS about 22 years ago at the age of 55. He fundraises to set up a water stop for participants of Walk of Hope by selling metal scraps.
“I’ve gone out and raided all the recycle bins already,” he said. “Scrap brass, copper aluminum, and wherever I can pick up money for it.”
All the money raised from the event is donated to the UMass Chan Medical School. Last year, the research team at the school was able to develop one drug that they believed could turn off an ALS Gene, and now they are currently working on three.
“When you’re in a fight, it’s great to have people at your back, and this is exactly that,” Kennedy continued. “So, we’re all in the same fight.”
WBZ NewsRadio’s Jay Willett (@JayWillettWBZ) reports.