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23

May, 2023

VLL Joins Lou Gehrig Day Campaign

The Vienna Little League community has been invited to join Little Leagues across the country participating in Little League Lou Gehrig Day, the Little League version of MLB’s Annual Lou Gehrig Day.

Lou Gehrig Day is a collaboration between the ALS community and Major League Baseball that raises funding and awareness of ALS. The VLL Lou Gehrig Day celebrations will take place on Saturday June 3, 2023 at Yeonas Park.

I Am ALS is excited to sponsor VLL’s Lou Gehrig Day celebrations, which will increase awareness, ALS research funding, and more. This is a great opportunity to show kids that baseball is about more than any individual game and about the power of coming together as a community.

VLL teams and families are invited to participate in this year’s Lou Gehrig Day events by:

● having team members, parents, and family members wear I Am ALS/Lou Gehrig Day wristbands and gear at games played on June 3; and
● having team members, parents, and family members spread the word about I Am ALS and Lou Gehrig Day games on social media.

I Am ALS will provide Lou Gehrig Day wristbands and stickers for FREE, thanks to a generous donation from one of its founders.

The Story of I Am ALS and MLB Lou Gehrig Day

ALS is a neurodegenerative disease that causes the muscles of the body to stop working. Those impacted by the disease lose the ability to walk, talk, swallow and, eventually, breath. The average lifespan of a person living with ALS is two to five years following their diagnosis. There is currently no cure for ALS.

I Am ALS is a community of people affected by ALS along with their family, friends, and activists who are working to change the status quo. The organization was founded in 2017. Among other accomplishments, I Am ALS members co-wrote and ensured the passage of Act for ALS, a landmark legislation that directs $100 million in federal funding for 5 years for treatment and research for ALS. Their work is featured in the award-winning documentary No Ordinary Campaign. I Am ALS’s goal is to ensure that the people currently living with ALS are the first generation to survive this cruel disease.

Lou Gehrig was one of the greatest professional baseball players in the history of the game. He played in 2,130 straight games as a seven-time all-star for the six-time champion New York Yankees. In 1939, at age 36, Gehrig was diagnosed with ALS. Forced to retire, he delivered his inspiring “luckiest man on the face of the earth” speech to a packed Yankee Stadium. He died two years later.

MLB announced the first annual Lou Gehrig Day in 2021 to raise awareness for ALS. I Am ALS is a proud supporter of this important event. Lou Gehrig’s grit and determination to keep playing are emblematic of the will of so many in the ALS community who are fighting for their lives against this disease.

For more information, please contact Sue Hiller (former VLL parent and member of the I Am ALS: Little League Lou Gehrig Day Committee) at [email protected] or visit www.iamals.org.