Community fundraisor honors Jaeckel and Sheehan vs. ALS

More than 100 supporters of John Jaeckel and Don Sheehan versus ALS participated in the annual walk, breakfast and silent auction fundraiser Saturday Aug. 24 in Hayward.

The event was headquartered at First Lutheran Church. Walkers used the city biking and hiking trail to go to the tennis courts on Greenwood lane and return to the church for a breakfast and silent auction.

“With the support of the greater Hayward community, the Jaeckel and Sheehan families gathered around 100 people to raise awareness of ALS. Together, they raised over $61,400 to support The ALS Association,” said Maggie Shelledy McAsey, regional development director for the ALS Association.

Prior to the walk, Sheehan’s daughter Juiie Zawistowski thanked the sponsors and all the participants “for keeping ALS patients like Don and John in the forefront of your minds and hearts. Dad gets a lot of support from the Veterans Administration,” she added.

She also said the ALS Association is “one of the most empathetic and caring organizations I’ve worked with.”

Don Sheehan also thanked the crowd. “It’s a wonderful thing that you do,” he said. “It helps so many people.”

Pastor Joel Bacon from First Lutheran recited a prayer to “Bless this walk. We will keep walking until this is done.”

Greeting participants via FaceTime, John Jaeckel said “We’ve come a long way from that first year we started at Shue’s Pond during Fall Fest.”

The event is in honor of John Jaeckel and Don Sheehan, who are community members living with ALS, “but it also gathers other local families affected by ALS. It’s a great opportunity to show support to those living with ALS and remember those who have died,” McAsey said.

She stated that “ALS is a progressive disease that attacks the muscles in your body. People with ALS can go from being perfectly healthy to quickly being unable to move, swallow or breathe. The average life expectancy for someone with ALS, also known as Lou Gehrig’s Disease, is two to five years. There is no cure. Every 90 seconds, someone is diagnosed.”

McAsey said the funds raised at this event support The ALS Association. “While we search urgently to find treatments and a cure for ALS, we help people living with the disease to manage the physical, emotional, and financial burdens of ALS.”

Last year, the ALS Association served over 500 people living with ALS in Wisconsin.