Kingston Employees Walk for ALS, Raising over $600 for the ALS Association

For their One Day activity, nine employees from the Kingston, NY facility participated in the Walk to Defeat ALS at the Walkway Over The Hudson in Highland.   

The walk began on the Ulster County side of an old abandoned railroad bridge that had been turned into a walkway. At over 200 feet tall and almost a mile and half long, it’s actually the longest, elevated pedestrian bridge in the world. Members of the group said the view was gorgeous from that height, as it was the fall season and the leaves were changing. After making it to the Dutchess County side of the bridge, the Kingston team turned around and braved the heights one more time before the walk came to an end.   

According to the event rules, a person had to raise at least $50 to receive a t-shirt that day. Since each member of the Kingston team surpassed that amount, everyone was given a t-shirt (see picture). Before the walk began, The Charles River team presented all the money they had raised to a representative from the ALS foundation. In all, the group raised over $600 dollars from friends, family and coworkers. The event itself raised a total of $187,111 for the ALS Association.

The money will be used to help those with Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS), also known as Lou Gehrig's disease. ALS is a condition where motor neurons in the central nervous system die, leading to the loss of muscle and ultimately the inability to walk, speak, eat and eventually breathe. Most patients with the disease live 2-5 years and there is no known cause, cure or effective treatment. ALS currently affects more than 30,000 people in the United States.