In the Dugout is the quarterly newsletter for the Live Like Lou Foundation, bringing an inside look at the incredible work of our volunteers and researchers. It also shares how our funds help us leave ALS better than we found it and highlights all we’re doing in honor of our namesake and baseball Hall of Famer Lou Gehrig and the more than 20,000 people living with Lou Gehrig’s disease every day.
Live Like Lou is coming to a ballpark near you for the fourth annual Lou Gehrig Day in Major League Baseball! Join our friends from Phi Delta Theta (Lou Gehrig’s Fraternity!), the Permobil Foundation, and members of the ALS community for a Lou Gehrig Day celebration in a city near you:
The Live Like Lou Foundation's inaugural Career Development Award for ALS Research supported a first-of-its-kind investigation into the complex cellular makeup of ALS in the brain. The grant, valued at $150,000, was awarded to a project titled "Single-Cell Multi-Omic Dissection to Identify Therapeutic Targets for ALS and FTD" and supported two emerging scientists, Dr. Veronique Belzil and Dr. Manolis Kellis, and their labs to study ALS and the related condition of Frontotemporal Dementia (FTD).
Recently, the team published their research findings. Their study showed a strong molecular overlap between ALS and the cognitive disorder FTD and revealed a target for potential treatment.
This milestone not only advances our understanding of ALS but also brings hope to countless individuals and families affected by this disease. Thank you to our donors and supporters who fund programs like the Career Development Award, making it possible to offer grant funding to emerging researchers! Read more about their findings.
In 2023, Live Like Lou awarded $50,000 in grants to complete home improvement projects that became necessary following their loved one’s ALS diagnosis. The application for 2024 grants is now open for all registered Live Like Lou families. Applications are due April 26.
Several families have shared stories about the impact of these funds and photos of their completed projects. Read their stories here!
Lou Gehrig played what would be his final big-league game on April 30, 1939, at 35 years old. We’re just a few weeks away from that date, and as we’re enjoying the start of the MLB season, it’s hard to imagine what the Iron Horse was thinking as he played his 2,130th consecutive game for the Yankees—which would ultimately be his last.
Those who have witnessed a loved one's confounding decline leading up to an ALS diagnosis understand—history would be made just a few short weeks after he ultimately benched himself. Lou’s incredible courage, determination, and gratitude would be on full display as he shared his diagnosis with the world. It is this example that we continue to find inspiration from as we leave ALS better than we found it in honor of Lou, the more than 800 ALS families we serve, and the over 140 emerging ALS researchers in the Live Like Lou family.
The Live Like Lou Foundation is in awe of the Phi Delts at Loyola Marymount University for their participation in our Connect and Serve Program. Aiming to impact those with ALS, they not one but TWO of our ALS families. This semester alone, they have helped with yard work, hung paintings, and spent an afternoon teaching an ALS family member to ride a bike.
These volunteer experiences left a huge impact on these men. After volunteering, less than half an hour into their car ride home, the question was asked, "when can we do that again?" Read more about Philanthropy Chair Diego Levenfeld's philosophy and his mission to connect with our ALS families here.
Our friends at the University of West Georgia's Phi Delta Theta Chapter served their local ALS family, the Fergusons, this past weekend by helping paint the fence in their backyard.
If your family has a project you’d like help tackling in/around your home, register today, and we’ll get to work on finding volunteers. Interested in serving an ALS family in your area? Phi Delts can register here. Not a Phi Delt, but you’d like to serve an ALS family? We'd love to work with you!
Limited Release Lou Gehrig Jersey
Celebrate the start of the baseball season with a limited-released Live Like Lou baseball jersey inspired by our namesake, Lou Gehrig, who famously played for the Yankees. With your Live Like Lou gear, you'll be ready to represent Lou at our Lou Gehrig Day games and help create awareness for ALS. Preorders were extended and close on April 17. Allow up to one month for production and shipping. Purchase a Jersey.
In case you missed it, follow Live Like Lou on social media and you’ll have a chance to win a Live Like Lou t-shirt. With your new Live Like Lou merch, you'll be ready to represent Lou at our Lou Gehrig Day games and help create awareness for ALS. Be sure you’re following us and comment or tag a friend before April 19 to win!
As we wrap up this quarter’s In the Dugout, we reflect on an incredible few months of progress, activity, and devotion for Live Like Lou. Here are just a few of the many additional highlights of what we’ve been up to:
We’ll be back in touch in a few months with even more good news. Thank you for being interested in the Live Like Lou Foundation and our work to leave ALS better than we found it.
