Walk to Defeat ALS

I am upset to say that I personally do not have any pictures for this wonderful event for ALS but I will go with what I have. Last Sunday, my fraternity, the Ohio Beta Chapter of Phi Delta Theta and I went to Columbus to volunteer our services for the ALS Association. I was excited and a bit nervous at the same time because I did not know what to expect. I have been in conversations with staff from the Central and Southern Chapter of the ALS Assocation since last November but the day had finally arrived. I had helped with loading the truck with the equipment that was supposed to go to the walk sites. There were three walk sites, one in Dayton, one in Columbus, which is the one I did, and one in Cincinnati this Sunday. I was happy to volunteer my services to the ALS Association- this is our philanthropy and what a better way to support it than to volunteer my time to the ALS Association.

I had a couple of jobs while I was there. Upon arrival at 8 am, I helped set up and unloaded the truck I helped pack a couple weeks before. Since there were a lot of guys from my fraternity to help out, the set up did not take as long. After receiving my official volunteer shirt, I was assigned one of my jobs, to assist with the drop-off point. The drop-off point consisted of an area where if there were any people who needed assistance in carrying equipment to their post or if any person needed help into their wheelchair or anything of a similar nature, I would be there to help. This task did not last long since people are already organized and prepared to walk for a distance (most people parked about a block away since that was the closest they could get to the area which by the way was Fred Beekman Park on the Ohio State Campus).

I was shifted to another position that needed a lot of help- registration. I saw my name for registration earlier in the day but the drop-off area was in need of assistance. As I took a seat at the registration table, I saw the various teams waiting to sign up or give their donations to the ALS Association. Many of the teams were walking in honor of a loved one who had passed from ALS also known as Lou Gehrig's Disease. Until I became Philanthropy Chair, I was ignorant about the fact that ALS is 100% fatal and that there is no cure. Hearing the stories before and during the walk of an individual's battle with ALS made me realize that helping with the Walk was one of the most beneficial things I would do for this year. Registration went well and I was happy that I could take part of the action with my fraternity brothers; we all worked together and enjoyed ourselves in the process of helping for a greater cause in ALS.

I actually participated in the Walk as well. The course was around Fred Beekman Park for a little over four miles meaning that the course looped around four times. The Walk itself was very comforting and everyone seemed to be enjoying the walk as well. After the Walk, there was bratwursts, sodas, and chips waiting for everyone. I had a couple and they were good. I needed the brats because as soon as I finished eating and walking, we had to tear down. The tear down took a lot longer and a lot more teamwork on everyone's part. Honestly, tear down was not bad either because I had the help of the guys whom I call my fraternity brothers. I was so pumped at the end of the Walk that I really did not want to leave but after the Budget rental truck was packed to capacity with all of the day's chairs, signs, tables, ladders, and other things for the Walk, we had to part. I was really glad at the end of the day that we volunteered our way in such a positive way to the ALS Association. I am grateful to have made the connection with the chapter and I hope that there will be many more in the future.






Grateful that the ALS Foundation is Phi Delta Theta's philanthropy,
Hasani Wheat
Class of '10