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Community Corner

Northwestern University Student Spearheads Tag Days Donation Drive to Benefit Les Turner ALS Foundation

Donation Drive to be held in Evanston on May 3 and 4

On May 3 and 4, volunteers wearing yellow aprons and holding collection canisters will be stationed in front of stores and at major intersections throughout Evanston as part of the Les Turner ALS Foundation’s Tag Days drives. Northwestern sophomore Danny Heller is spearheading this local fundraiser in an effort to support a cause that is dear to his and his family’s hearts. A true grassroots campaign, Tag Days helps increase awareness of ALS and raises funds to support medical research, patient services and educational activities. The Evanston Tag Days drive is one of nearly 30 community drives in the Chicagoland area taking place in May. 

This is the first year Danny is leading the Tag Days drive in Evanston; he has been co-captain of the Lincolnwood effort. He is recruiting friends, students and members of the community to serve as the manpower for effort. A member of the Sigma Nu fraternity, Danny hopes to involve his fraternity brothers and has secured support from the Alpha Phi sorority girls to maximize the impact. His goal is to build the Tag Days drive into a large, successful and annual effort that continues after he graduates. Volunteers commit to a two-hour shift and are stationed at highly-visible locations, such as grocery stores, coffee shops and busy intersections.

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Tag Days requires only a few supplies and many dedicated volunteers, which enables the Les Turner Foundation to invest a high percentage of proceeds directly into critical services that benefit the ALS community. Since 1994, thousands of volunteers have participated in Tag Days and more than $1.5 million has been raised through this grassroots effort.

The Tag Days fundraiser is a way for Danny to support the ALS community, a group that he has been involved with all of his life. Danny’s interest in medicine, and in particular ALS, stems from his father Scott Heller, MD, who has been a neurologist at the Les Turner/Lois Insolia ALS Center at Northwestern for more than 25 years. With an understanding of the patient care side of the disease, Danny now is gaining experience in the field of ALS research, working under the guidance of P. Hande Ozdinler, PhD, in the Les Turner ALS Research Laboratory at Northwestern’s medical school.  

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“I have grown close to this cause and to the people it affects first through my dad and then through my role at the research laboratory,” explained Danny. “I want to help raise funds for patient care and research, and feel that organizing a Tag Days drive in Evanston is a great opportunity to tap into a large community and make a difference.”

ALS Awareness Month  

May is National ALS Awareness Month, and to honor this milestone, the Les Turner ALS Foundation will oversee the Tag Days drives plus several new initiatives designed to educate the public about the disease. In partnership with ad agency Ogilvy, the Foundation has created a campaign that reinforces ALS is more common than you think. The campaign includes advertisements on CTA buses and in “L” stations; turning the Chicago skyline blue; radio PSAs and a social media contest. The public is encouraged to visit HelpCureALS.org for more information.

ALS

Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), better known as Lou Gehrig’s disease, is a terminal neuromuscular disease that attacks a person’s muscles, gradually robbing them of their ability to walk, speak, eat and breathe, yet usually keeping their mind intact. At any given time, approximately 35,000 people in the United States are living with ALS. While treatments and interventions can help alleviate some symptoms and prolong survival, there is currently no prevention or cure for ALS. 

Les Turner ALS Foundation

Since 1977, the Les Turner ALS Foundation has been a leader in research, patient care and education about Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS), better known as Lou Gehrig's disease, and other motor neuron diseases (MND). The Foundation serves more than 90 percent of the ALS population in the Chicago area, providing a wide range of services, such as support group meetings and respite grants. The Foundation is affiliated with Northwestern Medicine where it supports two scientific research laboratories and a large multi-disciplinary clinical program.

For more information, to see a full list of Tag Days community drives and to volunteer for Tag Days, call 847-679-3311 or visit www.lesturnerals.org.  

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