'National Cornhole Challenge Day' Organized by Young Faces of ALS Campaign

Proceeds from Tournaments to Benefit Research into Treatments for Lou Gehrig's Disease

CAMBRIDGE, Mass., Feb. 8, 2011 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- The Young Faces of ALS Campaign (YFALS) announced today its plans to hold a nationwide fundraising event this June in support of research toward an effective treatment for ALS (Lou Gehrig's disease).  The campaign is organizing a "National Cornhole Challenge Day" where it will work with large committees of ALS patients, families and friends to host one-day tournaments of the popular bag toss game.  Committees have been organized across the country in San Francisco, Boston, Seattle, New York, Boise, Atlanta, Baldwin City, Portland, Austin and Washington, D.C.  Locations online at: http://community.als.net/YFALScornholechallenge.

(Logo:  http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20110204/DC42625LOGO)

Anastasia Ashley, a professional, two-time world champion surfer, lost her Mother to ALS two years ago, recently became an YFALS Ambassador.  "If you are a young person and you find out that you have ALS, or find out that your mother, brother or aunt has ALS, you feel powerless to do anything.  I think that the Young Faces of ALS Campaign can help to change that, and the YFALS National Cornhole Challenge Day is one example of how it is giving people our age the chance to make a difference in a non-traditional way," said Ashley.

Each National Cornhole Challenge Day location will feature a daylong tournament, entertainment, food, beverages and prizes.  A donation of $100 covers the entry into the tournament for a two-person team as well as food and drink tickets.  In addition, local committees, as well as each team, are encouraged to seek local sponsors.  Corporations and groups are encouraged to register teams, as special awards will be given for best costume, etc.

"I received my diagnosis 3 years ago when I was 21.  Some of the folks that started this campaign with me last year were diagnosed even younger than me.  We are all still kicking, so to speak, because some of us have literally lost the ability to move anything at all.  We are hoping that other young people that have battled this disease as the family member or friend of an ALS patient will join us for National Cornhole Day.  It is going to be a lot of fun and we hope, with everyone's help, a real success in funding research," said Corey Reich of Piedmont, Calif. an ALS patient and YFALS Ambassador.

All proceeds from these events will benefit research taking place at the ALS Therapy Development Institute (ALS TDI).  The world's largest independent research center devoted to solving the ALS crisis, ALS TDI is a nonprofit biotech which specializes in the discovery, development and validation of preclinical candidate therapies for ALS.  For more information about the National Cornhole Challenge and the YFALS Campaign, visit www.facebook.com/youngfacesofals or email [email protected].  

About Cornhole (a.k.a. Bag Toss)

Cornhole (bean bag toss, baggo or bags) is a lawn game in which players take turns throwing cornhole bags (cotton duck bags filled with feed corn) at a raised platform with a hole in the far end. These platforms are usually made with plywood or plastic and are often decorated. A corn bag in the hole scores 3 points, while one on the platform scores 1 point. Play continues until a player reaches the score of 21

About ALS

Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS, Lou Gehrig's disease) is a progressive, fatal neurodegenerative disease affecting approximately 30,000 people in the United States at any given time.  The average survival following diagnosis is only about 36 months, and onset can occur in teenage years plus every decade of adulthood.  ALS usually progresses rapidly, with patients losing their ability to move, speak, swallow, and eventually breathe on their own. Currently, there is neither a cure nor an effective treatment for ALS.

About ALS TDI

The mission of the ALS Therapy Development Institute (ALS TDI) is to develop effective therapeutics that slow or stop amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS, Lou Gehrig's disease), as soon as possible. Focused on meeting this urgent unmet medical need, ALS TDI executes a robust discovery program, while running the world's largest efforts to pre-clinically validate potential therapeutics; including small molecules, protein biologics, gene therapies and cell-based constructs. The world's first nonprofit biotech, ALS TDI has developed an industrial-scale platform that allows for the development and testing of dozens of potential therapeutics each year. Built by and for patients, the Institute is the world's only nonprofit biotechnology company with more than 30 professional scientists. In addition, the Cambridge, Massachusetts based research Institute collaborates with leaders in both academia and industry to accelerate ALS therapeutic development. For more information, please visit us online at www.als.net.

CONTACT:  Robert A. Goldstein, [email protected], +1-617-441-7295

SOURCE ALS Therapy Development Institute

WANT YOUR COMPANY'S NEWS FEATURED ON PRNEWSWIRE.COM?

440k+
Newsrooms &
Influencers

9k+
Digital Media
Outlets

270k+
Journalists
Opted In

GET STARTED