Companies Urged to #GetUgly This Holiday Season to Fight ALS

    GRAND RAPIDS, MI, December 09, 2016 /24-7PressRelease/ -- The ALS Association Michigan Chapter is asking the community to #GetUgly this holiday season to help local citizens suffering from a truly ugly disease.

Individuals and corporations across Michigan are invited to purchase a specially designated "ugly sweater" from UglyChristmasSweater.com to help raise funds for residents living with ALS, also known as Lou Gehrig's disease. The nonprofit is partnering with the Commerce Township based company who will donate 25 percent of the profits from every sweater purchased at http://www.UglyChristmasSweater.com/ALS. Sweaters will arrive with a special #GetUgly ALS patch affixed to the sleeve.

In addition, The ALS Association Michigan Chapter is challenging Michigan corporations to host a #GetUgly day at work during the month of December, where all participants donate $10 to wear their selected ugly sweater for the day. Participants are encouraged to share photos of themselves and their ugly sweater-clad colleagues on social media using the hashtag #GetUgly.

"I am so excited to announce this wonderful holiday initiative to raise funds and awareness for this dreadful disease," said The ALS Association Michigan Chapter CEO Paula Morning. "ALS affects the lives of more than 700 people in Michigan - my hope is that one day we will find a way to eliminate it for good. It's a great way for folks to have a little fun this holiday season while also helping their fellow Michiganders fighting a very ugly disease."

ALS is a progressive neurodegenerative disease that affects nerve cells in the brain and the spinal cord. People with ALS eventually lose ability to initiate and control muscle movement, which often leads to total paralysis and death within two to five years of diagnosis. For unknown reasons, veterans are twice as likely to develop ALS as the general population. There is no cure and only one Food and Drug Administration approved drug that modestly extends survival.

About The ALS Association and The ALS Association of Michigan Chapter
The ALS Association is the only national non-profit organization fighting Lou Gehrig's disease on every front. By leading the way in global research, providing assistance for people with ALS through a nationwide network of chapters, coordinating multidisciplinary care through certified clinical care centers, and fostering government partnerships, The Association builds hope and enhances quality of life while aggressively searching for new treatments and a cure. The ALS Association of Michigan Chapter maintains offices in Troy and Grand Rapids, Michigan. For more information about The ALS Association Michigan Chapter, visit our website at http://www.alsa-michigan.org.

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