Strike Out ALS…What's it all About?
by Tanya Sperling, Capital District CKI Secretary-Treasurer Elect

There's been a buzz around Williamsburg, Virginia lately and it's not the bees buzzing around the historical triangle. No, it's William and Mary CKI singing "Take Me out to the Ballgame" to various Kiwanis clubs around the historic triangle area. This year The College of William and Mary CKI has teamed up with Williamsburg Kiwanis, the Tribe Athletic Associate and the ALS Association to fundraise for the 3rd annual Strike Out ALS!

So what exactly is ALS? And why a baseball game? Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS, sometimes called Lou Gehrig's Disease, or Maladie de Charcot) is a progressive, usually fatal, neurodegenerative disease caused by the central nervous system that control voluntary muscle movement. As one of the motor neuron diseases, the disorder causes muscle weakness and atrophy throughout the body as both the upper and lower motor neurons degenerate and die, ceasing to send messages to muscles. Unable to function, the muscles gradually weakening, develop fassiculations (twitches) because of denervation, and eventually atrophy due to that denervation. The patient may ultimately lose their ability to initiate and control all voluntary movement except of the eyes.

Three years ago a member who was deeply affected by her own grandfather's illness wanted to do something to help fundraise for finding a cure for this disease. She went to the CKI Board and ran with the idea. The rest is history. W&M CKI seeks out sponsorships from local business, prizes from local stores and chains, and support of Kiwanis clubs from around the Tidewater area. Tickets are sold for $5.00 each with $4.00 of the money going towards the ALS Association. In addition, with the pledges from local business, CKI was able to raise $14.00 per student who came out to the ball game in 2007 for the first 200 students. This year could not be any better for us. Our fundraising has hit the ground running and our publicity team is in action getting our cause into the spotlight. If your Kiwanis club would like to attend the game, or make a donation, contact W&M CKI Strike Out ALS Chair/President-Elect Jill Matthews at jillmatt@gmail.com.