Your pace, your place: Walk to support fight against Lou Gehrig’s, Huntington’s diseases

Not to sound super repetitive, but COVID-19 is successfully converting the majority of in-person events to virtual formats.

I’m all for this option, since it’s obviously better than axing the event entirely. And nonprofits especially can’t afford to cancel.

So how about throwing on your walking shoes and getting some fresh air while aiding in the fight against two diseases.

Two walks are going virtual and both will take place on Saturday, Sept. 19.

▪ The ALS Association Evergreen Chapter is changing the 6th annual Boise Walk to Defeat ALS into a Walk in Your Neighborhood this year.

A brief online opening ceremony will be streamed at 11 a.m. Sept. 19, followed by the walk.

Gather in groups or teams, depending on your comfort level, and walk in your neighborhood, a park, on your favorite trail or even around your backyard. Choose your distance as well.

The fundraiser will support “services for locals living with ALS (Lou Gehrig’s disease) like equipment loans, support groups, technical support, educational resources, and home health visits to families living with ALS,” according to a news release.

ALS stands for amyotrophic lateral sclerosis.

“COVID-19 threatens our chapter and our ALS families. We’re adapting to this new environment by providing services and programs in different ways,” explains Pauline Proulx, executive director of the Evergreen Chapter. “But we can’t provide our services without your help. Now more than ever, we need your support.”

Go to web.alsa.org/BoiseWalk to register, which is free, and to access fundraising tools.

▪ The Boise Idaho Virtual Team Hope Walk, hosted by the Huntington’s Disease Society of America’s (HDSA) Pacific Region, is set for 11:30 a.m. Sept. 19.

Once again, walk in a group or solo, and pick your location and distance. You don’t even have to leave the house if you don’t want to. Hop on that treadmill and get moving.

Team Hope, HDSA’s largest national grass-roots fundraising event, will “support HDSA’s fight to improve the lives of people affected by Huntington’s disease and their families,” according to a press release.

Registration is free with fundraising encouraged at pacificreg.hdsa.org/about/2020-boise-idaho-team-hope-walk.