Help pALS – ALS Foundation of Hawaii

#GivingTuesday: “Let the sun shine through…”

November 26, 2022

#GivingTuesday2022, ALS awareness, ALS Residence, Hawaii ALS Residence, Help pALS, People with ALS

The basest of species, we are told, simply do not have the physical structure to provide the basis for complex emotions such as compassion. Paramecia and reptiles just don’t have it in them to feel anything beyond self-preserving “reactions” such as when in pain. Only more developed species have awareness beyond themselves that shows “others” as something more than their next meal. I’m talking generalities here (I have to qualify my statement, before someone who’s watched Jurassic Park points out,…

Our Christmas Message to You: Thank You For Your Support!

December 24, 2021

ALS awareness, ALSFH Christmas Message, Hawaii ALS Residence, Help pALS

At the First Christmas, Mary and Joseph’s task at hand was to find a place where the Messiah was to be born. In some ways, ALS Foundation of Hawaii has a similar mission: search for a place in which a tale of redemption could begin. People with ALS (pALS) who decide to live with ALS need a place where their potential for growth and development, may find fulfillment; not just a place to die in. Despite the relentless wretchedness of…

Justin Hendrix: “This is the End…NOT!’

November 7, 2021

ALS awareness, Books About ALS, Fundraising Project, Help pALS, pALS, Sharing stories

Finally! Justin Hendrix’s book has come off the press. “This is Not the End”, a self-published collection of personal experiences, heartwarmingly describes Justin’s life starting from when he heard from doctors in 2012 that he was terminally ill with ALS and what he did with what he thought was left of his life following that grave pronouncement. While working on our brochure in early 2018, four people with ALS agreed to have their images on the brochure as the “faces”…

Online Auction To Fund Lifesaving Treatment For Local Artist Eric Chun

September 23, 2021

Help pALS, Helpin pALS, Sharing stories, Uncategorized

September 23, 2021, Honolulu, HI – Local artist, waterman, and small business owner Eric Chun announced the launch of an online auction today to raise funds for lifesaving therapy in his battle against a disease that has taken multiple members of his family. Since his 2018 diagnosis of ALS, Eric has received cutting edge treatments in San Diego instrumental in prolonging his life and delaying debilitating disability. Eric now seeks to participate in a new treatment therapy which has shown…

The Quest for Donated Wealth: My Take on the Mackenzie Money

July 23, 2021

ALS awareness, ALS Philanthropy, Hawaii ALS Residence, Help pALS

The recent news about marital splits among the two wealthiest couples who also happen to be the source of staggering amounts of money given to philanthropy has created a brouhaha amongst us in the non-profit world. We in the Board speculated with interest what the divorces meant – and it’s not because we have in any direct way benefitted from the Bezos or Gates fortune before the splits. We are just too far from the center of wealth to attract…

May 2021 as ALS Awareness Month

May 4, 2021

#ALSinCOVID, ALS awareness, Hawaii ALS Residence, Help pALS, May is ALS Awareness Month

…THEREFORE I, DAVID Y. IGE, Governor of the State of Hawaii, do hereby proclaim May 2021 as “ALS AWARENESS MONTH” in Hawaii and encourage citizens of the Aloha State to join me in raising awareness of ALS, support the efforts to combat the disease, and honor the patients and families who are demonstrating extraordinary resilience and resourcefulness while living with ALS….

“Lei of Remembrance” Memorial Ceremony, 2020 Edition

May 22, 2020

#ALSinCOVID, ALS awareness, Events, Help pALS, News

23 May, 2020, Kailua, HI. This year, the “Lei of Remembrance ceremony will be presented in video form. Every year for the past six years, the annual celebration – the ultimate culminating annual May event here in Hawaii – has been held in the courtyard of the State Capitol. In support of the State’s plan to stem the pandemic, the ceremony will be streamed for the first time on 29 May, Friday at 5-5:30pm. Streaming site will be announced midweek.…

FACEBOOK FUNDRAISER GAINS $400 FOR ALSFH FOR #GIVINGTUESDAY

May 13, 2020

ALS awareness, Fundraising Project, Help pALS, News

May 13, 2020, Kailua, HI. Participating in the global giving movement, #GivingTuesday, Divina Robillard started a fundraiser on her Facebook profile page with an initial goal of $200. Within two hours, the goal was met. “I was thrilled and awed! My network of close friends know how near and dear ALSFH is to my heart. Truly, the world continues to be generous despite Covid-19,” says a grateful Divina. To stimulate more giving, Divina pushed the goal post to $400, which…

An Open Letter to Bill Gates, on the Occasion of Receiving the Professor Hawking Fellowship Award

November 27, 2019

ALS awareness, ALS Philanthropy, Events, Help pALS, News

Dear Bill, I just read your 2019 Professor Hawking Fellowship lecture delivered in Cambridge. I am grateful that you have taken up global health as focus for your philanthropy. My background is public (international) health, so I understood every bit of your concern. I was born in the Philippines when it was still a developing nation. In 1976, after graduation from Nursing, I joined the faculty of the UP Institute of Health Sciences. At that time, it was creating…

Brian Burke, Katherine’s Li’l Brother, Dies at 61

July 24, 2019

Help pALS, News

Brian Burke’s life story was not always a sad one. He was born the youngest of five children to Cecilia and Darrell Burke. Like any health boy, Brian grew up with his family, which included Big Sis Katherine, in Benton Harbor, Michigan. Early life was the usual – elementary, high school, an Associate degree in college. He didn’t engage in any sport but football and basketball occupied his interest as a bed-bound spectator in the years he had ALS. Sometime before 2002, when…