Local Restaurateur Donates to Walk to Defeat ALS
 Restaurateur Jared Decoteau donated a percentage from the proceeds of his two restaurants to the Massachusetts chapter of the ALS Association. |
NORTH ADAMS, Mass. — Residents recently had a chance to eat out for a good cause.
The local arm of the Massachusetts ALS Association chapter teamed up with restaurateur Jared Decoteau during the Dine2Donate fundraiser, one of a number of fundraisng events held in late March.
Decoteau offered to donate 15 percent of sales at Public Eat & Drink in North Adams and his new District Kitchen & Bar in Pittsfield for a week and match the results.
On Monday, Decoteau presented Team Berkshire County captain Sheryl Morehouse with a check for $400.
"He's been really supportive," said Morehouse.
Decoteau said the community response to Public since its opening three or four years ago has been very good and he wanted to return it..
"We love to give back to the community," he said. "This seemed like a great opportunity."
Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, also known as Lou Gehrig's disease for the famed Yankees player whose career and life were cut short by it, affects up to half a million people worldwide. Every 90 minutes someone is diagnosed with the progressive neurodegenerative disease, which gradually paralyzes the body and ends with respiratory failure within two to five years.
Team Berkshire County is currently raising funds for the annual Walks to Defeat ALS and selling 50/50 tickets (the winner of which will be announced on walk day). The Progressive Palette at 71 Spring St., Williamstown, is hosting a painting fundraiser featuring a "Kindred Spirit" dragonfly on Wednesday, April 29.
Morehouse has been involved in the Walk to Defeat ALS for some years and is this year's chairman. The most recent walk in the Berkshires was held in 2010 at Wahconah Park in Pittsfield, where Gehrig had once played. The last several years, walks have been held in the Boston area, she said, but one returns to Western Massachusetts this year.
The Springfield Walk to Defeat ALS will be held on Saturday, May 30, at Forest Park on Sumner Street. Check-in begins at 9 a.m. and the walk at 11. It will also feature entertainment, food from Pittsfield's That's a Wrap and activities for children. The walking area accommodates wheelchairs and strollers.
Morehouse is hoping a good turnout will prove that the region can support a Western Mass — and hopefully Berkshire County — walk in the future.
"I'm happy they came as far as Springfield," she said. "I tell anyone who wants to to go, so that enough people participate and we can keep it up here."
More on ALS can be found here; tax-deductible donations to Morehouse's team can be made here. To join Morehouse's team or make a check or cash donation, contact her at 413-652-5825.
Tags: ALS, benefit walk, donations, restaurants,
