Ride For Life
 

Ride For Life




By JUDY RATTNER May 17, 2007



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In wheelchairs and on foot, a group of ALS patients, accompanied by family and friends, travelled the length of Long Island to raise awareness and money

, and to support patients with the progressive deadly ailment that is commonly known as "Lou Gehrig's disease." The group recently made a 9-day, 150-mile ride across Long Island. Covering about 15 miles a day, they stopped for mini-events along the way, at schools and organizations that raised money to fight ALS. All meals and lodging on their trip were donated by supporters. On Friday, May 4, the Ride for Life arrived at Trinity Lutheran Church on Lincoln Avenue to dedicate a tree planted there in memory of village resident Andrew Knipe, a fellow rider, who succumbed to the disease at the age of 38, on Labor Day weekend in 2005. Andy's family, including his widow, sons, brother and sister-in-law were joined by Sen. Dean Skelos (R-RVC), village trustees Andrew Karamouzis and Suzanne Sullivan, and many others from the community as Pastor Jeffrey P. Laustsen led a brief ceremony. The riders, along with a group of Lawrence High School students in the school's B.O.N.D. program for teens in difficult circumstances, had travelled to the church from the Cradle of Aviation museum in Garden City.
"The ride is going splendidly," said Chris Pendergast, president and founder of the Ride for Life, himself an ALS patient who has lived with the disease for a number of years. "Our goal is to raise one quarter of a million dollars." Pendergast also said he was impressed with the LHS kids, "these kids are emblematic, good examples. They know what it means to have their backs against the wall. They were fabulous."
The Ride for Life was founded in 1998 by Pendergast and other ALS patients and those close to them. It has raised over $2 million. The group's mission is to raise funds to find a cure for Amyotrophic Lateral Schlerosis, to support patients and their families, to raise awareness and to provide the community with the latest ALS news, information and inspiration. Ride for life is a patient-driven and patient-organized charity. Research grants are determined entirely by patients. Most fundraising is done with patients and organized directly by patients and their families. The group recently moved into new headquarters donated by Stony Brook University, on its campus.
Discovered over 100 years ago, ALS is a rapidly progressive disease that attacks the nerve cells responsible for controlling voluntary muscles. About 30,000 Americans have the disease. 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 ventilator support. Most die from respiratory failure, on average within two to three years of diagnosis. About 90 percent die within five years.
For more information on the Ride for Life, you can visit its web site at www.RIDEFORLIFE.com or call (631) 979-4433.