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Frequently Asked Questions
What is Ride for Life?
Ride for Life, Inc. is a national, not-for-profit corporation run by ALS patients, caregivers and those who care about people living with ALS. We are called "Ride for Life" because of our annual event in which ALS patients ride their electric wheelchairs down the highways and byways to raise funds for a cure and create awareness for their disease.
When it started in 1998, ALS patients made the Ride from Yankee Stadium to Washington D.C. - a 350-mile journey. During the Washington Rides, participants met with President Bill Clinton and numerous members of Congress. In recent years, the Ride has centered on the New York Metro area. In 2004, the Ride will travel from Manhattan to Montauk Point (the tip of Long Island.).
What is Ride for Life's goal?
Our mission is to raise public awareness of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), help research in finding a cure, support ALS patients and their families, and provide the ALS community with the latest ALS related news, information and inspiration.
How much money has Ride for Life raised?
Since 1998, Ride for Life has earned almost $800,000 for ALS research and patient services.
Where does the money go?
Since the Ride for Life is a patient-driven volunteer organization, there are minimal overhead and operating costs.
Donations to the Ride are tax deductible to the extent of the law. Ride for Life, Inc. is approved by the IRS as a 501(c) (3) non-profit organization. IRS No. 11-347-9051
On average, the organization puts over 90% of its income towards ALS programs and research. Management costs are less than 10%.
Ride for Life Supported ALS Research
Ride for Life devotes at least 50% of its income to fund a search for a cure to ALS and in 2003 granted $75,000 to promising ALS research programs.
Ride for Life Patient Services Programs
The Ride for Life devotes 40% of its income to supporting patients through innovative programs.
- Care for Life
The Ride for Life is the only ALS organization to offer universal nursing assistance in the form of a respite program. This program is available to any eligible family across the nation. Each grant of $1500 can purchase up to 40 hours of care for a patient.
- Plan for Life
The Ride for Life is also leading the way in offering grants to assist families with legal issues faced by the terminally ill. The $750 grant underwrites living wills, powers of attorney, medical trusts, etc.
- Mobility for Life
Chair-bound patients are often unable to travel. In years past, the Ride for Life provided financial assistance to insure the mobility opportunities of patients. But now the 'Mobility For Life' program makes three vans available for short-term use by patients.
Who contributes to Ride for Life?
Anyone and everyone!
People donate to the Ride even when the Ride, itself, isn't taking place. In 2003, a regional golf outing on Long Island brought in a sizeable amount of donations. A winter ornament sale brought in a few thousand dollars. Smaller amounts came from ALS awareness buttons and gold ALS angel sales. Last, but certainly not least, generous members of the ALS community continuously donated throughout the year.
During the Ride, people donate informally in canisters at participating businesses. Volunteers collect donations from people who gather along the route. School groups conduct activities and donate the proceeds. Online donations are sent in from around the country. Ride items are available for sale, such as t-shirts and pins.
Corporate sponsorship also plays an important part in fund-raising.
Who is Chris Pendergast?
Chris is the founder of the Ride for Life. He was diagnosed with ALS in 1993. In 1998, he started the Ride for Life to help raise ALS awareness and money for a cure.
Chris is a resident of Long Island, New York and worked for almost 20 years as a teacher in the Northport School District before recently retiring. He began his award-winning career in education in 1970 after graduating from the State University of New York at Fredonia. He earned a Master's Degree in 1976 from the State University of New York at Stony Brook. Chris first worked as an elementary classroom teacher in Northport until being selected as a facilitator for gifted and talented students in 1984. He continued in that position until his retirement.
He has a long list of awards. Among his most treasured is a New York State Teacher of the Year nomination in 2000. In addition, he was a participant in NASA's Teacher in Space program. Recently, at the initiative of his students, the Town of Huntington embarked on construction of a pioneering, barrier free playground for disabled children. It was named Pendergast's Playground in his honor. His dedication to education earned him a special citation from New York's Governor, George Pataki in 1999.
Since being diagnosed, he's become an ardent and well known advocate for ALS. He writes and lectures extensively about the disease. A recent book, "Teachers with the Courage to Give", carried an essay he wrote entitled, "Real Strength".
He's also made several appearances on television. In 1996, he appeared in the Muscular Dystrophy Association's Labor Day Telethon. In 2002 and 2003, Katie Couric interviewed him on NBC's Today Show. He's also appeared in the NBC Evening News with Tom Brokaw, and several reports on News 12 Long Island.
Chris Pendergast is married to his wife of nearly 30 years, Christine, and has two children.
What media coverage has Ride for Life received?
In 2002 and 2003, NBC's Today Show produced a 10-minute segment on the Ride for Life concluding with a live interview between Katie Couric and Ride participants. Cablevision's News 12 Long Island has covered every Ride and has won 2 Emmys for its work. Mostly recently the station was nominated for 3 Emmys for its coverage of the 2002 Ride for Life.
Newsday has also routinely devoted coverage to the Ride along with Long Island radio stations WRCN and WALK. A number of other media outlets up and down the eastern seaboard have also reported on the Ride over the years.
What is ALS?
Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis is a rapidly progressive disease that attacks the nerve cells responsible for controlling voluntary muscles. Eventually, patients lose their strength and ability to move their arms, legs and body. When muscles in the diaphragm and chest wall fail, patients cannot breathe without ventilatory support. Most people with ALS die from respiratory failure, usually within three to five years. The average survival time is 24-36 months. About 10 percent of patients survive for 10 years or more.
Who gets ALS?
As many as 30,000 Americans have ALS, and it is estimated that as many as 6000 Americans are diagnosed every year. ALS most commonly strikes people ages 40 to 60, although it can strike as early as late teens. Men are diagnosed slightly more often than women.
What are the symptoms?
The earliest symptoms may include twitching, cramping or stiffness of muscles; weakness of arm or leg muscles; slurred and nasal speech; or difficulty chewing or swallowing.
What causes ALS?
The cause is not known. Research suggests mutations in a particular gene are associated with some cases of inherited ALS. The vast majority of cases just appear without any known cause.
How is ALS treated?
No cure has been found. However, the Food and Drug Administration has approved riluzole, a drug that is believed to reduce damage to motor neurons of ALS patients. Clinical trials show riluzole prolongs survival by several months and extends the time before a patient needs ventilation support.
More ALS Facts
- ALS is incurable and always fatal
- ALS causes increasing paralysis and results in death from respiratory failure
- Approximately 30, 000 Americans have ALS in America
- About every 90 minutes someone dies from ALS and usually within 2-3 years of diagnosis
- ALS effects both sexes, all races and most commonly strikes in middle age
- ALS is diagnosed about as often as MS and more frequently than Muscular Dystrophy
Source: National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke, ALS Association
For more information about ALS we highly recommend the following websites: