Welcome to the new email edition of our newsletter, "Prairie to Peak". Every month we will include a few key stories - let us know if there is something you would like covered in an upcoming issue.
Karen Caughey, Executive Director, ALS Society of Alberta
Reflecting over the past year, we are thankful to our generous donors and supporters who have helped us continue to stay open and support our families during this challenging time. We could not have managed through the pandemic without your generous support. Our groups continue to be well attended and allow people from all over the province to connect in a way they couldn’t before the pandemic. Our Client Service team has maintained communication with our clients online and via phone. We have also focused on getting much needed equipment to our clients in light of the health restrictions. We all know that ALS doesn’t stop or pause because of COVID-19.
As we all personally feel the impact of the pandemic, we are hopeful for the progress that has been made for vaccine access. However, as we continue to move through the stages of recovery over the coming months, we our planning for our major events to be held virtually again this year. We want our events and interactions to be as safe as possible while still bringing together our community. In 2020, we watched our Alberta ALS family unite online and from a social distance, and were inspired by everyone's commitment and passion. We are also thankful for members of our community that have continued to hold their own fundraisers, even with pandemic regulations in place. Information about a few of them can be found below.
Our staff and board of directors continue to manage in the short term and have dedicated time planning forward to ensure we can weather the challenging year ahead. As a charity that receives no government funding, we rely on fundraising and donations to maintain our programs and services. As such, we will continue to work hard on alternate sources of funding, such as grants, online fundraisers and other avenues. Our commitment to our mission and to the families we serve is steadfast, and we will continue our fundraising work to ensure this is maintained.
Thank you to the amazing ALS community for helping us to ensure we can continue to make each day the best possible day for those living with and affected by ALS.
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Research News: New way identified to track severity and progression of ALS
"University of Alberta researchers have discovered a new method to identify the severity of Lou Gehrig’s disease in patients and track its progression. The U of A team, led by Sanjay Kalra, a professor in the Division of Neurology, has made progress toward an imaging biomarker for white-matter degeneration in the brains of ALS patients. They hope that will lead to earlier diagnosis and potential new therapeutics." ALS research news from right here in Alberta - participants of this study were enrolled in clinics in both Calgary and Edmonton, and it was co-authored by Alberta's Dr. Sanjay Kalra and Dr. Lawrence Korngut.
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Amylyx New Drug Submission |
Amylyx Pharmaceuticals plans to submit a New Drug Submission (NDS) for AMX0035 for the treatment of ALS with Health Canada in the first half of 2021. The decision to submit was based on the positive clinical data from the CENTAUR trial, and feedback from Health Canada. In addition, Amylyx will be exploring options for early access to AMX0035 in Canada. Read further details in the press release here.
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Save the Date! Betty's Run for ALS in Calgary will be back for its 25th anniversary on June 13, 2021. Held virtually again this year, we will build on the amazing event that took place in 2020 - stay tuned for our new registration and fundraising page this month! |
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Are you interested in more information about the Walks? Would you like to start a walk in your town or community? We are preparing for the 2021 Walks to End ALS across the province, and would love to add more events to the schedule! Email meaghan@alsab.ca if you would like to get your community involved. |
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Student ALS Association,
University of Alberta
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One of our AMAZING clients, Jenna, took the time to chat with SALSA (Student ALS Association at the U of A). Jenna explains her ALS journey thus far in this open, honest, and emotional video.
We hope this story inspires you as much as it has inspired us. Jenna, you are an absolute light amongst us! View Jenna's Video
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Development News
Grants Received
The ALS Society of Alberta gratefully acknowledges the financial support of the Community Foundation of Lethbridge and Southwestern Alberta, a public foundation serving the community of Southwestern Alberta.
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The Nickle Family Foundation also confirmed a generous grant to the Society at the end of 2020. We gratefully acknowledge the assistance to help ensure we continue to fulfil our mission!
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We are also grateful for the just-announced grant from the New Horizons for Seniors Program, to provide ipads and other communications devices for our clients over the age of 65.
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Mikael and Frida Backlund |
THANK YOU to Mikael Backlund, KPMG Canada, the Calgary Flames and the Flames Foundation for their continued support. While in-person game attendance and meet and greets can't happen this year, Mikael and Frida Backlund continue to support our families throughout the pandemic with personal zoom calls along with $500 for every point, matched by KPMG & The Flames Foundation. |
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#snowystrong Fundraising Campaign |
In December, the Calgary Flames Foundation and Chris and Kelsie Snow proudly announced the direction of funds raised thus far through the Snowy Strong campaign. In addition to $63,000 already at work at the University of Miami's Miller School of Medicine, $200,000 has been directed to ALS research at Sunnybrook’s Hurvitz Brain Sciences Program in Toronto, Canada's largest ALS Clinic. Click here for more details on this Calgary family and their drive to fund ALS research.
Flames fans, please note that the Calgary Flames are selling Fan Cutouts for the remainder of the season, with proceeds going to #snowystrong - link here to purchase!
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Current Fundraisers in our Creative Community!
Our amazing community has continued to think of ways to fundraise on our behalf, even when in-person events have come to a standstill.
Danny Getzlaf started the Christmas Ice Bucket Challenge in December, and is continuing it throughout 2021 with a goal of raising $25,000! Read more and take a moment to donate here.
Wayne Thomas released his book "Perspectives", which documents his journey with ALS. 70 per cent of the proceeds of his book sales go to the ALS Society of Alberta - purchase your copy here.
Sylvia Tensfeldt has yet another beautiful and creative project in the works - her "It Takes a Village" cross-stitch piece. This time, to raise funds for the ALS Society, you can become part of the artwork by making a donation of $150 or more - for example, you could choose a Pet Store or a Bakery, and have your name, family name, business or pet name stitched into the building itself! Learn more here.
Finally, Jenna, whose story we shared above, has started a Facebook fundraiser that is having unbelievable results, as people are touched by her moving video. If you would like to contribute, please visit her page here.
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Donation Options
We have added a monthly donation option to our website! If you would like to help us make each day the best possible day for those living with and affected by ALS, monthly donations are an impactful way to give. Donations now, more than ever, will make a tremendous impact on our ability to support our families in Alberta. Please click the link below to help our families today with one-time, monthly or in memoriam donations. Thank you.
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