By: Victoria Araj

On Saturday, Oct. 3, the Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis Association held its annual Walk to Defeat ALS on Belle Isle and more than 500 people, including Detroit Mayor Dave Bing, braved rainy weather to raise awareness for the disease that affects someone every 90 minutes.  ALS, (also known as Lou Gehrig’s disease) is a progressive neurodegenerative disease that attacks the cells that aid in muscle control.

This year, Quicken Loans CEO Bill Emerson served as the Corporate Chairman for the Walk and he challenged all Quicken Loans team members and its sister companies to raise $75,000 for the disease that affected both his brother-in-law and a close friend.  Through individual team member contributions, internal auctions for unique prizes, creative team competitions such as raffles, themed lunches and even valet parking for a day, the goal was surpassed and more than $120,000 was raised.  Of the total that was donated, the Cleveland office raised $9,000 and the Scottsdale office raised over $10,000 for their respective chapters.