Party to raise funds for ALS programs, research

An education professor at Providence College who was recently diagnosed with Lou Gehrig’s disease will be the keynote speaker at the Muscular Dystrophy Association’s annual fundraising party, “An Evening Among Stars,” this Thursday, March 26.
Deborah Goessling, who teaches elementary and secondary education and serves as an academic adviser, was recently diagnosed with the disease, amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), which is the focus of this year’s event.
ALS is a degenerative disorder that destroys the nerve cells that control voluntary muscles. Muscles grow progressively weaker until paralyzed. It typically strikes adults in the prime of life and is ultimately fatal. Its cause is unknown, and no cure has yet been found.
For more than 50 years, MDA has led the world in funding research into ALS treatments and cures, and providing services for people affected by the disease.
Thursday’s event, the fourth of its kind, is hosted by ABC 6 and will be held at the Providence Piers, 200 Atwells Ave., Suite 1, from 6:30 to 10:30 p.m. It will feature cocktails, hors d’oeuvres, music by Alfred Casinelli, and a silent and live auction.
Tickets are $150, and all funds raised will support programs and services of the MDA’s ALS Division. For more information, contact Jane Young at 732-1910 or e-mail her.