(Photo credit: CFJC Today).

By Stephanie Swensrude

MOVE TO CURE ALS

Kamloops and Merritt raise $40,000 for ALS research and support

Jun 20, 2022 | 5:58 AM

KAMLOOPS — A grand total of $40,000 was raised for ALS research after the annual Move to Cure ALS fundraiser in Kamloops and Merritt on Saturday (June 18).

It’s thanks, in part, to a group of core volunteers that have been working with the ALS Society of B.C. for nearly two decades, according to Wendy Toyer, executive director of the ALS Society of B.C.

“I travel all over British Columbia, in particular this month, attending various events, and every time I fly into Kamloops or drive into Kamloops, I really feel a sense like I’m coming home,” Toyer said. “We have over 30 dedicated volunteers that have been working with us for the last 18 years and continue to do so, to offer our programs, raise awareness as well as raise funds.”

Tara Lyster was a co-organizer of the fundraiser.

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“It’s extraordinary, right, that people are still coming together and supporting such an amazing and important walk that will help so many people in B.C.,” Lyster said.

This year, there’s been a slight change to how the funds will be distributed — all money raised in B.C. will stay in B.C.

“Sixty per cent will support people living with ALS through our various support programs at ALS B.C., and the other 40 per cent will go to Project Hope, towards research at UBC,” Toyer said.

To fund Project Hope, the ALS Society of B.C. has a goal of raising $20 million to establish an ALS research centre at UBC. Toyer said the clinician-scientist in charge of the future research centre will be announced soon.

ALS is a progressive neuromuscular disease. ALS is characterized by a progressive degeneration of motor nerve cells in the brain and spinal cord.

The average life expectancy after diagnosis is two to five years, though some patients live for longer. There is not currently a cure to stop or reverse ALS.