GET GOING!"
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Cambridge, MA
December 20, 2006


Dear Friends,


On behalf of my entire family – thank you. Over the past few weeks your notes, words, and prayers have memorialized my brother, Stephen, far beyond what we could have ever imagined or wished. You have given us incredible strength. You have overwhelmed us with your kindness and love.


Since the Foundation began, many of you were thankfully bold enough to ask, what happens after Stephen? - to ALS TDF - to me – to us, the community we have built? And for six years, brushing aside the unimaginable (wasn’t Stephen invincible?) I answered both that I thought that is was impossible to know how I would feel and also that ALS TDF had grown far beyond Stephen or any patient, for that matter.


Today I know how I feel. It’s hard to explain but I know what Stephen wants and I know what we will do. Today - I know that we are on the right course and that this is a battle we can win and that we will do whatever it takes to win.


Together we created the world’s first non-profit biotechnology company and industrialized validation in ways that have begun to have impact beyond ALS. Though we did not find a cure that worked for Stephen, I hope you are as proud as I am of ALS TDF.



So what happens now? What happens now is we do whatever it takes to win. This year we added 40% to our research budget and next year we intend to double it. This year we built the infrastructure to understand ALS; next year we begin to find ways to stop ALS.
What happens now is the gloves come off. This does not end here…we will take this disease apart and destroy it – together.

Many of you may recall that Stephen gave the first $10,000 donation with these words – “Get Going!” And so we did – and so we continue. In the coming weeks I will share with you incredibly exciting news about new partnerships, new investments, and where we are headed in the coming year. Much of this has long been in planning but is even more exciting today in the wake of our loss.

Until then, from my heart, thank you for helping me make Stephen proud.

I wish you all safe, healthy and happy holidays!


-jamie