Walk For Hope In Wakefield Raises Money For ALS Cure
WAKEFIELD (CBS) - A thousand people gathered in Wakefield on Saturday to raise money for a cure for ALS.
So far, the Angel Foundation has raised $1.5 million but needs another $4 million.
"This is now the domino effect we were hoping from the Ice Bucket Challenge. And what we can do is now connect all of these families and when you see them suffering from this disease. It really puts us together as a community," said John Frates, the father of Pete Frates who suffers from ALS and inspired the Ice Bucket Challenge.
The Ice Bucket Challenged has raised more than $100 million for ALS research.
For 30,000 thousand people in the United States, living with ALS is their reality.
"It changes your life in so many ways," said Magda Daly, whose husband has ALS.
Daly's husband, Jim, was diagnosed with the disease nine years ago. She says her family became depressed.
"How quickly it can bring a person like Jim who was a runner, a rugby player, functional working providing for the family kind of guy, to not being able to speak - it's terrifying," said Magda Daly.
But with all the awareness and money the Ice Bucket Challenge has brought in, the Dalys, Frates and thousands of other families have new hope.
"The awareness is finally here, the funding is here, so we have to believe that the treatment is right around the corner," said John Frates.
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