Hello my beloved sponsors,

Here I am again, shamelessly asking you to support me in the Walk to End ALS which I do in memory of my friend Cathy Payne.

Cathy was diagnosed with ALS more than 25 years ago. She asked me to walk for her when she could no longer walk, and I have been doing that now for 24 Walks to End ALS, with many of you supporting me the whole time.

So much good has come from the money you have donated to ALS research. The first few years of the walks no one even talked about research. Instead, your donations helped people living with ALS and the people who cared for them with supplies that made their lives a little easier, a little more dignified: hospital beds; wheelchair ramps and other medical equipment for their homes; also those machines that can talk for patients who have lost the ability to speak.

 Now your donations do all that and so much more. Research into ALS has really taken off. Researchers say there’s been more progress in ALS research in the last five years than over the last century. That is what you have done.

 While there is still no cure, great strides have been made in targeted therapies that can slow the disease progress in some forms of ALS. Some patients have even shown improvement in function, something rarely seen in ALS. In March 2025, Health Canada approved Tofersen, a targeted therapy for adults with ALS caused by mutations in the SOD1 gene. It is the first ALS therapy designed to address a specific genetic cause of the disease.

 That kind of progress gives hope to all ALS patients. And I can’t thank you enough for being part of that breakthrough.

I am going to walk with Cathy’s sister Margie and brothers Bill and Tom in London’s Walk to End ALS on Saturday, June 27. We usually have lunch afterward. It’s a really nice way to remember Cathy.

Last year, beloved sponsors, you blew right past our goal of $2,000. You raised more than $2,800. I still get teary when I think of it. I am setting this year’s goal at $2,500. I hope you will help me reach that.

Thank you very much.

Cheers,
Jc