Former NFL Player Kevin Turner, Country Artist Ty Herndon Help Raise More Than $4.3 Million For ALS

Sept. 8, 2011 - PRLog -- (Nashville, Tenn. – Sept. 8, 2011)  Former NFL player Kevin Turner and Country artist Ty Herndon were on hand Sept. 1 at Boston’s Fenway Park to help present a check to the ALS Therapy Alliance for $4.3 million.

In June 2011, Turner and Herndon were named celebrity spokespersons for the 10th annual CVS/pharmacy “Researching A Cure” ALS fundraising campaign.  The campaign ran June 5-25 to help raise funds for ALS research and benefit the ALS Therapy Alliance.  Herndon’s “Journey On” video features Turner and was incorporated into the CVS/pharmacy in-store video spots, which ran in approximately 7,200 CVS/pharmacy locations.  Funds generated by this year's campaign bring the total amount raised so far to more than $27 million.  Visit www.ALSTherapyAlliance.org for more info.

Campaign co-chairs Treg Charlton and Barry Winovich were also in attendance for the check presentation.  Charlton, a regional director of real estate for CVS Caremark, and Winovich, a childhood friend of Charlton, both suffer from the ALS disease.

Turner’s own non-profit ALS organization, The Kevin Turner Foundation, staged a private fundraiser in Nashville, Tenn., on June 18 that raised more than $100,000 for ALS research.  Diagnosed with ALS in May 2010, Turner formed the foundation to help raise awareness about the connection between concussions and the ALS disease and to generate funds for research.  Visit www.KevinTurnerFoundation.org for more information.

About the ALS Therapy Alliance (ATA):
The ATA was founded in 2000 to provide a vehicle for a diverse group of scientists and clinicians to coordinate research related to ALS. The scientists involved in the ATA are affiliated with some of the best universities and medical centers, including, among others, Massachusetts General Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Harvard College, Brigham and Women's Hospital, Beth Israel Deaconess Hospital, Boston University and the University of Massachusetts. The ATA's board is comprised of outstanding clinicians, scientists and business associates including two Nobel Prize Laureates, H. Robert Horvitz, Ph.D. and Craig C. Mello, Ph.D., who are committed to the organization's mission. CVS/pharmacy is the largest corporate donor to the ALS Therapy Alliance. To learn more, visit www.ALSTherapyAlliance.org.

About the Kevin Turner Foundation:
Former NFL fullback Kevin Turner established The Kevin Turner Foundation in October 2010 to raise public awareness of Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS) and to bring attention to the emerging evidence linking brain trauma in athletes and the ALS disease.  The nonprofit organization endeavors to raise funds for the study, treatment and cure of this debilitating disease.  Turner played for the University of Alabama (1987-91), the New England Patriots (1992-95) and the Philadelphia Eagles (1995-99).  To learn more, visit www.KevinTurnerFoundation.org.