Toronto School Supports A Friend In The Fight Against ALS

May 13, 2009 - PRLog -- TORONTO, CANADA - Kids today get a bad rap.  They are criticized for watching too much TV, playing too many video games and generally, just not caring.  But Hodgson Senior Public School in Toronto is one example of kids showing kindness and compassion towards a fellow student and friend.  

Alec Walker Smith, a student at Hodgson, found a way to turn a negative into a positive by organizing a dance-a-thon for ALS at his school.

For the most part, Alec is a regular 14-year-old boy, except in one important way.  Alec’s father was diagnosed in 2007 with ALS, a fatal neurodegenerative disease.  

“I told my classmates that I could help my dad by raising money to support the ALS Society, but I needed their help to do it,” says Alec. To kick things off, he visited each of the 10 classes in the school and made a presentation about ALS. He told them that ALS is a fatal neuromuscular disease that attacks and paralyzes the muscles.  That ALS can affect men and women at any age and although, it affects only 2,500 to 3,000 people in Canada, his father was one of them.

Following Alec’s presentation to the school, students and teachers rallied around him. Each student in the school has raised money by collecting pledges for their participation in the dance-a-thon. Alec’s web site at ALS Canada has already collected more than $1,000 in donations.

What started as one boy’s mission to help his dad has turned into an event that has brought classmates together and united a school.

The dance will be held May 15 at Hodgson Senior Public School at 1 p.m. Prizes were donated by local businesses.    

Visit Alec’s web site at http://www.als.ca/events/mysite.aspx?fid=3001

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About ALS:

ALS, also known as Lou Gehrig’s disease, is a rapidly progressive and fatal neuromuscular disorder that causes the degeneration of nerve cells in the brain and spinal cord. ALS can affect men and women from any ethnic origin at any age. Approximately 2,500 to 3,000 Canadians are living with the disease. Eighty per cent of those affected will die within two to five years of diagnosis.

About the ALS Society of Canada:

The ALS Society of Canada, founded in 1977, is the only national voluntary health organization dedicated solely to the fight against ALS and support for those living with ALS. ALS Canada funds research towards a cure for ALS, supports the provincial ALS societies in the provision of quality care for those living with ALS, and provides information to build public awareness about the disease. The vision of the ALS Society of Canada is to find a cure for ALS.