Letter to the Editor

Family thanks community

Sunday, June 23, 2013

To the Editor:

On June 22, a walk took place in honor of Traci Miller, with a goal of raising donations and awareness to find a cure for ALS (Lou Gehrig's Disease).

We would like to thank everyone who participated and helped us raise more than $3,000 in those few hours.

This is an extraordinary effort and we can all be thankful that we live in a community of givers and doers.

This event is one of many that takes place across the United States each year to support research to find a cure for ALS.

Without private donations, much of the research would be impossible to fund. So every dollar is potentially the one that finds a cure or the next step closer to a cure.

We would like to thank all of our family, friends, neighbors and local business support. The idea of a local walk event was planned and managed by Traci's cousin, Katie French-Weddle, and Aunt Susie French.

Their support made this idea a reality.

We had support from Gina and Jon Crooks, owners of Timeout in Brazil. Gina and Jon committed a generous portion of all revenue that was generated at Timeout after the walk was completed.

A large percent of our total revenue came by the way of this donation.

We also had support from the local Walgreen's Pharmacy. Walgreen's Pharmacy and its store manager contacted us before the walk and donated water and ice for our event.

As there is no treatment that slows down this disease and it can affect anyone without warning, our efforts are not over.

Team Brazil is now gearing up for the fall walk in Indianapolis. Last year, our team was the No. 1 team in the state for individual/local team support. This did not go unnoticed and Traci and Team Brazil were awarded special recognition by the Indiana ALS Chapter.

This was a sense of pride as members of the Brazil team.

This year, we are continuing to support the state effort by conducting events like our local walk. Other events are being planned. If you have an idea or would like to sponsor an event, please contact us.

If you would like to make a donation and support Team Brazil, please visit Team Brazil's website at http://web.alsa.org/site/TR/Walks/Indiana?pg=team&fr_id=9208&team_id=236796. Here, you will find all the information about ALS-Indiana and supporting our team.

Thank you all for everything you are doing to support our mission of a world without ALS.

Your support is making a difference every day.

Sincerely,

Traci and Brad Miller,

Brazil