For 16 years, the Delaware ALS community has gathered at the Rehoboth Beach Boardwalk. Family, friends, and neighbors came together for one day every September to show their support for the ALS community. The inaugural Walk raised more than $31,000. By 2011, the Rehoboth Walk had over 380 participants and raised $132,000.
However, over time, things changed. Our goal at ALS United Mid-Atlantic is to ensure that people with ALS come first in everything we do. With this in mind, we recognized we needed a change to accommodate our ALS families. The ALS patient population changes frequently. Many of our Delaware families have expressed difficulty traveling to Rehoboth Beach. So much so that since 2019, the number of people with ALS registered for the Rehoboth Walk has steadily decreased.
Over the past two years, we have distributed surveys to participants of the Rehoboth Walk and anyone with a Delaware zip code on our mailing list. The results were clear – more people would participate in the walk if it took place closer to where more of our patient population live. Wilmington was the winner!
Based on the survey results and continued feedback from our Delaware families, the event had to change this year. The ALS United Walk provides an opportunity to unite and empower people with ALS. However, if our ALS families find it difficult to attend the event, we are not fully serving their needs. So, the Rehoboth ALS United Walk is now the Delaware ALS United Walk and will be at the Riverfront in Wilmington!
On Saturday, September 6th, we will celebrate the first official Delaware ALS United Walk at Tubman-Garrett Riverfront Park in Wilmington.
Although this year will bring change, ALS United Mid-Atlantic wants to acknowledge the Rehoboth Walk founders, as none of this would have been possible without the support of three amazing women who paved the way.
In 2004, Mary Ann Wollter learned about this devastating disease when her husband, Gene, was diagnosed with ALS. Mary Ann and her daughter, Mary Lou, supported Gene every step of the way until the disease took his life in 2006. Determined to help find a cure, Mary Ann and Mary Lou went to work to make a difference for other families impacted by ALS. The mother-daughter duo and Joyce Paugh, who lost her husband to ALS, organized the first Walk at the Rehoboth Beach Boardwalk.
ALS United Mid-Atlantic is forever grateful to Mary Ann, Mary Lou, and Joyce. Over the years, committee members Steve Lee, Nicole Messeck, Bill O’Brien, John Gauger, and Adele Jones joined these three amazing women to continue the fight to end ALS. Their support has meant so much to our organization – their impact will live on through the new Delaware ALS United Walk.
