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Summer seems far away, but an ALS Canada official wants to get the word out regarding two fundraisers to be held in Sault Ste. Marie in June and July.

Saultites are invited to attend a big screen viewing of local, historical photographs at the Moose Lodge beginning at 1:30 p.m., Sunday July 9.

“I have a hobby of collecting old vintage postcards, photographs, I really love history,” said Brigitte Labby, Sudbury-based ALS Canada Northeast Ontario regional manager.

All proceeds raised from the event will go to ALS Canada, but the July event is being organized and hosted by Labby, outside of her usual duties within the organization.

Labby has hosted two previous similar fundraisers in the past, in Sudbury and North Bay respectively.

“I had about 100 to 150 pictures of what the cities used to look like, I would hire a local musician to sing a few songs for an hour and a half to two hours, and the older generation really appreciated coming out to see that,” Labby told SooToday.

Historical slides of the Sault will be presented on a large screen at the Moose Lodge.

There will be live music by Streamline Country at the event.

“Sault Ste. Marie has a lot of history.  There’s so much of it, and I’ve noticed the Sault has kept a lot of the original buildings around,” Labby said.

The afternoon viewing of the show will be easier for seniors, Labby said.

Labby is looking for volunteers to help with the event.

Tickets are $10 per person and will be available at the Moose Lodge on Trunk Road after May 10, or at the door on the day of the show.

More information on the show may be found on Facebook 

Prior to that event, June will mark ALS Awareness Month, with four fundraiser walks for ALS going on in northeastern Ontario.

This year’s Walk for ALS will take place Saturday, June 3, beginning at Roberta Bondar Park & Pavilion at 10:30 a.m.

Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (also known as ALS, Lou Gehrig's disease, or motor neuron disease) is a disease that gradually paralyzes people because the brain is no longer able to communicate with the muscles of the body that we are typically able to move at will. 

Over time, as the muscles of the body break down, someone living with ALS will lose the ability to walk, talk, eat, swallow, and eventually breathe.  There are no effective treatments for ALS and no cure.

“90 per cent of ALS sufferers will pass away within two to five years after being diagnosed with the disease, but there are five to 10 per cent of them who live 10 or more years,” Labby said.

A notable example is Eddy Lefrancois.

A large crowd from Dubreuilville and Wawa will be travelling to the Sault  for the June 3 event to support Lefrançois, who was diagnosed with ALS 25 years ago. 

He and his team have already begun a campaign to raise $25,000 to mark his 25 years of ALS.  $21,000 has been raised toward that goal.

More than 80 people have died from ALS in the Northeast Ontario region in the last five years, Labby said. 

Province wide, there are 850 people currently living with ALS, 44 in the northeast.

Curiously, “it does tend to affect people who are quite athletic,” Labby said.

“Many of them tend to be very fit, slim, a lot of police officers, correctional officers and security guards, military officers, people who play sports, coaches, quite healthy people who don’t smoke, they eat well, they walk.”

“It’s bizarre.”

“It seems to be a common trait we’ve noticed around the world,” Labby said, adding a person’s family history doesn’t tend to be a factor in acquiring the disease either.

A drug known as Rilutek can, in some cases, slow down the progression of the disease.

June 3 will mark the fourth consecutive Walk for ALS locally.

More information on the walk, including registration, can be found online 

Labby is looking for volunteers to help with both fundraising events.

She may be reached at 1-800-267-4257, extension 208 or by email at [email protected]