A few weeks ago, my closest friends and family joined together to form a team for the Walk to Defeat ALS. We named ourselves "Nutty Buddies" after my father, Bud. Matt Arch, and incredibly caring individual, joined our team and took some great footage of the action that day. Here is his video blog from the walk.
Yep, that's my dad there in the Underdog costume for the Superhero themed walk! Below is what Matt wrote about this video in his blog. 
"Several months ago, I met a young woman who I confidently can describe as a quintessential“change agent.”  This means that a person will stop at nothing to strive and reach a goal no matter the challenge.  This girl’s name is Amie.  A senior college student at Point Park University, her father was diagnosed with ALS a little over 1 year ago.  This is the same neurodegenerative disease that took the life of Lou Gehrig over 70+ years ago.  Sadly, there is still no cure, so every dollar raised helps prolong the life of a loved one.

Ms. Amie, thanks for being an advocate even in this trying time.  Here is a small depiction of your hard work and triumphant fundraising efforts (raised OVER #10000) achieved in September, 2013.  Buddy, you are a true legend and living #legacy.  Thanks for being YOU!"

His words truly brought tears to my eyes. Please watch and share this video and his blog!
 
... until Matt Arch's 30th Birthday Fundraiser. 
Matt Arch is a great mentor of mine who has dedicated his birthday to raising money for Cystic Fibrosis.  Help him reach his goal of $3,000 by tomorrow night! Donate here!

Here's just a little bit about Cystic Fibrosis and the CF Foundation

Cystic fibrosis is a devastating genetic disease that affects the lungs and digestive system. More than ten million Americans are symptomless carriers of the defective CF gene. Advances continue to be made in finding a cure, but your help is needed now -- more than ever -- to help keep up the momentum of this life-saving research.

When the Foundation began in 1955, most children with CF did not live to see their first day of elementary school. Today, the median predicted age of survival for a person with CF is in the mid-30s. This is remarkable progress, but not good enough. We continue to lose precious lives to CF every day. To learn more about CF and the CF Foundation, visit www.cff.org.

Matt's endeavor brings back memories of my 16th birthday party. Five of my friends and I had a birthday party and asked for donations to give to Pittsburgh Action Against Rape. We raised several hundred dollars and created a lot of awareness among people our age about the work that PAAR does. 

Using an exciting event, like a milestone birthday, to fundraise is a great way to get people involved and create awareness. 

Best of luck in the homestretch Matt! 
 
Today I spent a few hours with my father for the holiday. He was drinking beers and watching the Pirate game just like old times. But, unfortunately things were a little different. Because of the onset of more ALS symptoms my Daddy can no longer speak clearly. Completing a story is so much of a task he often asks someone else to finish it for him. Eating his lunch takes so much focus that he cannot hold conversation at the same time. 

Although he has always been an emotional man, the smallest things bring my dad to tears these days. For Father's Day I brought him an old card I made him when I was little (in addition to some other gifts). The front said #1 Dad! and inside it read "that's my Dad!" with all kinds of words to describe him. My favorite of which was weird, hah. Today was a great day to celebrate my dad and all dads out there. 

The best way I could think of for you to honor my dad and all fathers with ALS would be to donate to the ALS Association. You can donate to my walk page here! A donation will bring us one step closer to finding an effective treatment and a cure. You can make a difference in the lives of someone with ALS. 

P.S. - Please do what you can to help my Daddy this Father's Day.
 
There are only 4 days left to donate to Seeds of Hope on Groupon! This organization is founded through Youth Advocacy League, an organization I have dedicated several years to. Lexy Werner founded Seeds of Hope to create awareness about the difficulties veterans face when returning home from war after her mother was deployed 12 times and her step father suffered severely from PTSD. Seeds of Hope creates community "victory gardens" to help support vets and their families. 
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Gregg Dietz, myself, Lexy, and her father at the Jefferson Awards luncheon in New York City.
Recently, they began partnering with organizations such as the Girl Scouts to spread Seeds of Hope cross country. This gives the teens a chance to learn to garden, and a chance to work with veterans and learn about the challenges they face. Gardening is also a great pass time for vets suffering from PTSD. 

One of these garden beds cost $250 to build. By donating $10 through this Groupon fundraising, you can play a role in helping those who serve our country. Seeds of Hope is holding this fundraiser to expand into 10 different states by the end of this year. 

For some more information check out this article on TribLive  that was written after the group was honored in the Jefferson Awards for Public Service Youth Service Challenge.

To donate to the cause click the button below!
 
So the first cause I've decided to write about is one that is near and dear to my heart. In April of last year, my father was diagnosed with Lou Gehrig's Disease. Here's a little bit about what ALS (Lou Gehrig's Disease) is from the ALS Association. 
Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), often referred to as "Lou Gehrig's Disease," is a progressive neurodegenerative disease that affects nerve cells in the brain and the spinal cord. Motor neurons reach from the brain to the spinal cord and from the spinal cord to the muscles throughout the body. The progressive degeneration of the motor neurons in ALS eventually leads to their death. When the motor neurons die, the ability of the brain to initiate and control muscle movement is lost. With voluntary muscle action progressively affected, patients in the later stages of the disease may become totally paralyzed.
This disease will take my dad's life in the next few years. While this is a devastating diagnosis, we have tried to take it with as much positivity as possible. My dad has vowed to live life to the fullest and enjoy every day he has left. On Wednesday May 1st, my dad and I got to share one of those great days at the Allegheny County Courthouse. 

County Executive Rich Fitzgerald met with members of the The ALS Association to declare May 2013 as "ALS Awareness Month" in Allegheny County for the first time. Watch the declaration below. 


This was a really great day to meet with the women of the ALS Association of Western PA office. I had a chance to talk to some of them and some of the other ALS patients that came for the event. 

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Here is a picture of everyone in attendance with Count Executive Fitzgerald. My dad is just to the right of me in the pink shirt. 

This day was a great way to kick off a month of ALS awareness and to start to fundraising for this year's Walk to Defeat ALS!

Please donate to our team, Nutty Buddy's Friends that Care! You can really make a difference in ALS research as well as helping me and my dad's friends and family reach our fundraising goals. 

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    I'm a senior at Point Park University with a passion for a cause. From women rights to child poverty, from Lou Gehrig's disease to eating disorders, I am always working to support something I am passionate about. Please read, enjoy, educate yourself, and give what you can. Thank you and take care!

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