New funding supports the ALS clinic coordinator, ensuring families receive seamless, comprehensive guidance.
ALS Ride For Life has reached a significant milestone in its relationship with Stony Brook Medicine, surpassing $1 million in cumulative support for the Christopher Pendergast ALS Association Center of Excellence and ALS research. Since 2005, the organization’s generosity has strengthened programs, advanced discovery and honored Chris Pendergast’s legacy. Its most recent commitment makes a dedicated clinic coordinator possible, ensuring families receive seamless, compassionate care throughout their ALS journey.
“ALS Ride For Life has been a vital partner in strengthening our clinical programs and advancing the research that shapes the future of ALS treatment,” said William Wertheim, MD, executive vice president at Stony Brook Medicine. “Their dedication reflects a shared drive to improve outcomes for every person affected by this disease.”
ALS Ride For Life was founded in 1997 by the late Chris Pendergast and his friend Ray Manzoni, after Pendergast chose to meet his ALS diagnosis with determination rather than despair. Rooted in his message, “Never Give Up, Never Lose Hope, Always Remain Optimistic and Be Willing to Defy the Odds,” the organization has grown from a community‑driven effort into a year‑round nonprofit serving families nationwide, with a strong focus on Long Island and the greater New York area. Through medical equipment assistance, accessible transportation, home modifications, educational outreach and support programs, ALS Ride For Life helps individuals living with the condition maintain dignity, independence and connection. “Chris taught all of us that even in the face of ALS, you can choose purpose,” Manzoni said. “Carrying forward his vision for families is how we honor him every day.”
The organization’s long‑standing relationship with the Christopher Pendergast ALS Association Center of Excellence is an extension of that mission. Pendergast, who passed away in 2020, advocated for the center’s creation so that people with ALS living on Long Island could access comprehensive, multidisciplinary services close to home — resources that address not only medical needs but also the emotional and practical challenges families face every day. “Strengthening the center means we can give families the care they need right now, while also helping advance the research that gives all of us hope for the future,” Manzoni said.
At the Christopher Pendergast ALS Association Center of Excellence, clinical practice and scientific discovery move forward together, a partnership strengthened by the work of Roger Sher, PhD, whose research in the Department of Neurobiology and Behavior in the College of Arts and Sciences focuses on understanding the cellular and molecular mechanisms that drive ALS. His lab studies how motor neurons degenerate, how neural circuits change over the course of the disease and how these insights can point toward new therapeutic strategies. Philanthropy has provided the flexibility his team needs to follow promising scientific questions and pursue lines of inquiry that might otherwise go unexplored.
“ALS Ride For Life’s partnership enhances the work happening in our lab every day,” Sher said. “It allows us to pursue discoveries that deepen our understanding of ALS and move us toward new possibilities for treatment.”
The Christopher Pendergast ALS Association Center of Excellence has been a cornerstone of ALS services on Long Island since it opened in 2002. Renamed in 2010 in honor of Pendergast, the center continues to build on his legacy of advocacy and community leadership. It remains the only certified ALS clinic on Long Island, and one of just 34 certified by the ALS Association nationwide.
ALS Ride For Life has been a steadfast partner in this work, providing ongoing resources for the center’s daily operations and helping fund the clinic’s nutritionist, recognizing the essential role nutritional guidance plays in maintaining quality of life. As the needs of the ALS community have grown, so has the importance of advancing coordination across the clinic. “We know how overwhelming an ALS diagnosis can be for families,” said Marilyn Sloan, executive director for ALS Ride For Life. “Investing in this role is one more way we can help ensure they have steady support every step of the way.”
“ALS Ride For Life has shaped the way our clinic connects with families. Their role in our work has allowed us to grow, adapt and meet patients where they are,” said Simona Treidler, MD, director of the clinic. “Through the establishment of the coordinator position, they’re strengthening the connection points that make care feel steady and accessible during an overwhelming time.”
ALS Ride For Life remains hopeful for a future in which an ALS diagnosis comes with far more hope, and far better treatment options, than it does today. Progress in research, clinical innovation and assistive technologies continues to help the field progress, while improvements across the patient experience are enhancing quality of life for those living with the disease right now. Its long-standing connection with Stony Brook has been central to this work, giving the organization a home base for its mission and a partner equally committed to caring for patients and accelerating discovery.
“As we look ahead, our commitment is clear,” Manzoni said. “To stand with the individuals and families who rely on the Christopher Pendergast ALS Association Center of Excellence today, and to help drive the breakthroughs that will transform tomorrow.”
About ALS Ride For Life
ALS Ride For Life is more than a nonprofit organization — it is a lifeline for families facing ALS. The charity, founded in 1997, steps in when someone is diagnosed with ALS to provide hands-on support and nationwide patient service programs that help families maintain dignity, safety, comfort and quality of life throughout their ALS (amyotrophic lateral sclerosis) journey. From gifting wheelchair-accessible vans and providing wheelchair-accessible van rental assistance to funding critical home modifications, offering equipment assistance, emotional support services, educational outreach, patient support and compassionate one-on-one connection — our mission is to ensure that no family faces ALS alone. Programs also extend into schools and communities, where they educate students and staff about ALS while inspiring compassion, volunteerism and the importance of giving back.
Everything ALS Ride for Life does is made possible because of the generosity of the community. Together, we are bringing hope, dignity, support, accessibility and human connection to families affected by ALS every single day.
About Stony Brook Medicine
Stony Brook Medicine integrates and elevates all of Stony Brook’s health-related initiatives: education, research and patient care. It includes five Health Sciences schools — Renaissance School of Medicine, School of Dental Medicine, School of Health Professions, School of Nursing and School of Social Welfare — as well as Stony Brook University Hospital, Stony Brook Southampton Hospital, Stony Brook Eastern Long Island Hospital, Stony Brook Children’s Hospital and more than 200 community-based healthcare settings throughout Suffolk County.
-Christine McGrath
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