West Islip Students Honor ALS Awareness Month

WEST ISLIP, NY —ALS Ride for Life, a non-profit dedicated to curing Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis, visited schools across Long Island in May in honor of ALS Awareness Month.

School officials said the hallways at Paul J. Bellew and Manetuck elementary schools in West Islip School Union Free School District on May 15 "were full of sunshine and cheers" while members of the ALS Ride for Life organization visited the campuses.

At both schools, students and staff lined the hallways, holding up signs of encouragement and inspiration shouting, “Strike out ALS.”

Manetuck Elementary School Principal Vanessa Williams and Paul J. Bellew Elementary School Principal Rhonda Pratt presented the organization's representatives with checks, thanks to their fundraising efforts.

ALS Ride for Life was founded in 1997 to raise funds to find a cure for ALS, support patients and their families and increase public awareness. The name pays homage to the organization's annual wheelchair ride fundraiser that takes place on highways from Long Island to Manhattan.