2025 Alberta Walk Together for ALS!
The Alberta Walk Together for ALS is the only Canadian fundraiser in support of those living with and affected by ALS in Alberta. Thanks to the incredible support of our volunteers, there will be several Walks throughout the province in 2024, raising funds for client support services and research in Alberta. To host a virtual Walk Together for ALS, or a live event in your community, send us an email.
To ensure your support stays in Alberta and funds the most promising research, please donate/register to the Alberta Walk Together for ALS as described above.
Walk Dates
Cold Lake
June 7
Lakeland Lutheran Church
Altario
COMING SOON
Red Deer
June 22
Bower Ponds
Wainwright
COMING SOON
Lethbridge
September 6
Henderson Lake Park - Horseshoe Pits
Drayton Valley
June 14
Lions West Valley Park
Camrose
June 14
Mirror Lake Park
Edmonton
June 14
Rundle Park
Hinton
September 7
Beaver Boardwalk
2025 Edmonton Ambassador, Hashem Melhem!
Each year, the Edmonton Walk Together for ALS Committee selects an Ambassador, who helps raise awareness about what it is like to live with ALS. We are proud to introduce Hashem Melhem as the 2025 Ambassador for the Edmonton Walk Together for ALS!
ALS used to be nothing but a distant reality, something that happened to other people, people I’d never met. I never imagined it would become part of my life. But four years ago, everything changed. My muscles weakened, my body began to resist me, and I caught my first real glimpse of what ALS truly is.
It’s a disease that takes and takes, piece by piece, until it feels like there’s nothing left but uncertainty and loss.
The day I was diagnosed, the world around me blurred. Questions flooded my mind: What does this mean? What will happen to my wife? My kids? My life? Questions that don’t go away as ALS progresses but linger in the background even today, as I focus on the present and try to see my world through a different lens.
Despite the challenges, I’ve been fortunate to share in life’s most precious moments. I walked my daughter, my baby girl, down the aisle and into the arms of the man she chose to spend her life with. I remember thinking, I hope he’ll love her even a fraction as much as I do. I also stood beside my son as he vowed to love and protect his wife for the rest of their lives. I’ve watched both of my children step into new chapters of adulthood, and for that, I am incredibly grateful.
And now, I have the joy of watching another chapter unfold: I’m becoming a grandfather this year. My son and his wife are expecting their first child in April, and my daughter and her husband will welcome their baby in June. Even in the face of ALS, life continues to offer beautiful gifts.
ALS is unpredictable, and this journey is not mine alone. It belongs to my family too. My wife, my greatest love, is also my caregiver. Every day she shows a depth of strength, patience, and compassion that leaves me in awe. Our children lift both of us up, offering support in ways I never expected, but will always cherish deeply.
We haven’t faced this journey alone. The ALS Society of Alberta and the ALS Clinic have been essential lifelines. From loans of vital equipment to emotional support, their dedication has made an immeasurable difference in our lives. Alberta Health Services has also stepped in with kindness and care, sending therapists and specialists into our home, helping us adapt and navigate each new challenge.
Managing ALS is about more than just medical care, it takes a community. It’s the doctors who monitor every change, the friends who reach out just to remind me I’m not alone, and the small acts of kindness that carry me through my hardest days. Each person plays a role in building a network of support that sustains not just the body, but the spirit.
I spent my life working toward a well-earned retirement, one I pictured filled with rest and reflection. This might not be the retirement I imagined, but it is the one I have, and I meet it with gratitude. Gratitude for my wife, my family, my friends, and the community walking this path with us.
This year, I want you to walk for them. I want you to walk for everyone facing this disease. Please join us at Rundle Park on June 14, 2025, for Edmonton’s Walk Together for ALS, because none of us should have to face ALS alone.
Sponsorship
Coming soon!
Walk Together for ALS is made possible by a wonderful group of sponsors. If your brand would like to partner with the 2025 Walk Together for ALS, please review our sponsorship opportunities here or reach out to info@alsab.ca
