For many of us, we joined the JTWalk because we wanted to do something to rally around our friend and colleague, Josh Thompson, who has Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS or Lou Gehrig’s Disease). Our very first year, we shattered records for the Walk to Defeat ALS: amount raised for a single team and the largest team formed. The following year, with the help of the Virginia Gentlemen Foundation, the JTWalk broadened it’s goals and set out to build a beach park that anyone, regardless of their abilities, can enjoy. JT’s Grommet Island is the first fully handicapped-accessible beach park in the United States; people of all ages play on it, some who have never been able to play in a park or stick their toes in the sand…things many of us have taken for granted our whole lives.

We’ve not only raised awareness but we have also raised millions of dollars, funded research for not only ALS but other neuromuscular diseases, provided money for patient care services in the Hampton Roads area, and built JT’s Grommet Island.

But why stop there?

This year in addition to giving to research and patient services, as well as funding improvements to Grommet Island, Josh wants to see something done for the Children’s Hospital of the Kings Daughters (CHKD). That “something” is a kid-friendly pediatric ICU on wheels. If you have ever been transported somewhere by ambulance, you know how intimidating all the equipment and noise can be. Now imagine being a child and think how much scarier that is.  This mobile unit will be designed to ease a child’s fears with bright colors and visuals – yet completely equipped with all of the latest technology to keep that child safe.

Join us in our walk efforts, whether you want to walk and raise money or you want to make a donation.

Life isn't a destination -- it's a journey. We all come upon unexpected curves and turning points, mountaintops and valleys. Everything that happens to us shapes who we are becoming. And in the adventure of each day, we discover the best in ourselves.