Your Walk, your way: Getting ready for June 21

UPDATE: Starting June 3, we will be hosting Live Well Wednesdays, special mini events via livestream where you can learn a new skill, have fun with your family, and connect with the ALS community:

• June 3: Yoga for all ages & stages
• June 10: Cooking Class
• June 17: Art class: DIY Walk t-shirts

During each livestream, registered Walk participants will be entered in a draw for a special prize. The winner will be announced on air – join in and listen for your name! 

---

As the COVID-19 pandemic forces us all to rethink how we live our daily lives, it’s also led us at ALS Canada to hold the first-ever fully virtual Walk to End ALS in Ontario. Taking place during ALS awareness month – and more specifically on Global ALS Awareness Day, June 21 – the Walk is a way we can come together while apart to share strength, love, and hope. Because one thing is for sure: while we’ve had to change how we walk this year, we’ll never change why.

Our why is to create a future without ALS – a future that can’t come soon enough. It’s to make a meaningful difference to families living with ALS today and honour those we have loved and lost. Our why is the ALS community, the need for a different reality, and the promise on the horizon with more ALS clinical trials taking place than ever before.

Whether or not you’ve registered for the Walk, get ready to be part of ALS Awareness Month in June through a range of activities you’ll have the opportunity to participate in. Then, on June 21 we’ll all come together online to cheer on the thousands of you who are taking part in the Walk.

---

Here are some key dates and time to keep in mind on event day and in the weeks leading up to event day:

• Now till June 1: Get creative and start thinking about how you’ll be participating in the Walk this year. You might choose to plan a walking route around your neighbourhood. Or maybe you’ll learn a choreographed dance routine, perform a song on your instrument of choice, do an online yoga video, finish a jigsaw puzzle or… you get the idea, the options are limitless! Let us know what your virtual Walk will look like by emailing us at teamals@als.ca or tagging us on social at @alscanada (be sure to tag your local Walk, too!)

• Live Well Wednesdays: These special mini-events will take place weekly via livestream. Learn a new skill, have fun with your family, and connect with the ALS community: 
  • June 3: Yoga for all ages & stages
  • June 10: Cooking Class
  • June 17: Art class: DIY Walk t-shirts

During each livestream, registered Walk participants will be entered in a draw for a special prize. The winner will be announced on air – join in and listen for your name! 

• June 1-20: Throughout ALS Awareness Month and leading up to the Walk on June 21 – which is also Global ALS Awareness Day! – we’ll be posting daily activities for you to complete. Follow us on social at @alscanada to learn about each day’s challenge and share photos of your participation!
• June 21 at 9:30am ET: Virtual Start Line
  Unite with your ALS community at the virtual start line. This will be a brief program about 15 minutes in total that will include:
  • Remarks from ALS Canada CEO Tammy Moore
  • An official proclamation of Global ALS Awareness Day
  • Shout-outs to the ALS community
  • A virtual warm-up to get you pumped up and feeling good
• June 21, 9:45am: Your Walk, Your Way
  It’s time to walk! Or dance, or draw, or run! Now’s the time to honour the commitment you made to how you’ll be doing the walk this year. Take pictures if possible and share them with us on social media by tagging @alscanada in your posts, along with your local Walk.
• June 21, 11:00am: Virtual Finish Line
  Congratulations, everyone! The virtual finish line will be an opportunity for us all to celebrate the resilience and commitment of all who participated in the virtual Walk. The program will include:
  • An update on the ALS Canada Research Program
  • Highlights from across the province
  • Messages from the ALS community
  • Musical entertainment

More details to be announced on our social media channels in the weeks to come!

If you’ve already registered and started fundraising – or if you’ve donated to someone participating in the Walk – thank you. If not, you can register today by visiting the Walk website and selecting the location closest to you.

As ALS Canada’s largest fundraising event, the Walk raises much-needed funds for community-based support (60% of proceeds) and dedicated ALS research funding through the ALS Canada Research Program (40% of proceeds). Now more than ever, your support makes a difference in enabling us to continue to support families living with ALS in a time of social distancing. You can also double your research impact this year, as our partner Brain Canada has committed to matching 40% of funds raised through the 2020 Walk. 

We know the Walk is more than a fundraiser – it builds community and connects people.  This year, we have an opportunity to unite more than 30 communities across Ontario in a single virtual event. We look forward to seeing you there! Register today.