The Les Turner ALS Foundation will bring together Chicago's top minds in ALS research and care, business, academics, philanthropy, and most importantly, people living with ALS, for one of the city's most elegant and most prestigious black-tie optional events of the year: the 37th annual Hope Through Caring Gala, at the Radisson Blu Aqua Hotel on Saturday, April 5, 2025. There will also be a virtual option available with a link to view the program.

Radisson Blu Aqua Hotel
221 N Columbus Drive, Chicago

6:00 PM | Cocktail Reception
7:15 PM | Dinner, Program, Fund the Need and Live Auction
9:30 PM | Dancing 
11:00 PM | Event Concludes

Black tie optional
Guests are encouraged to "Wear a Touch of Blue"

Valet and garage parking available at the hotel

For questions or more information, please contact Kim Kempf at 847-745-6024 or kkempf@lesturnerals.org.

Special Performance

Aaron Lazar

 

With extraordinary passion and grace, award-winning actor and singer Aaron Lazar inspires audiences with The Impossible Dream, his musical journey of healing in the face of ALS. 

Aaron is a Grammy nominee, SAG Award winner, and Drama Desk Award nominee. He has been a guest artist with many of the world's top symphonies, including the New York Philharmonic and Boston Pops, and he has starred in 11 Broadway productions including The Phantom of the Opera, Les Miserables, and Dear Evan Hansen. On film and television, his credits include hits such as Everything, Everywhere All At Once and Yellowstone, as well as work with legendary directors Clint Eastwood, Martin Scorsese, Mary Harron, and The Russo Brothers in Avengers: Infinity War & Avengers: Endgame. 

Diagnosed with ALS in 2022, Aaron has become a prominent advocate and keynote speaker on adversity as a catalyst to change and healing and the spiritual mindset of health. His mission is to expand consciousness and empower others to know that, "we all have the power within us to make the impossible, possible." His debut album, Impossible Dream, is nominated for best traditional pop album at the upcoming 2025 Grammy awards

Visit www.aaronlazar.com to read more about Aaron's ALS Story.

 

Harvey and Bonny Gaffen Advancements in ALS Award Honorees

  Jean Swidler and Mindy Uhrlaub

Jean Swidler and Mindy Uhrlaub are founding members of End the Legacy, a patient-led organization dedicated to the needs and interests of the Genetic ALS & FTD community. Since it was founded in 2023, End the Legacy has presented to the FDA and spurred the creation of the first-ever guidance for those at genetic risk for ALS and FTD. In 2024, End the Legacy was proud to partner with the Les Turner ALS Foundation as the local host for their first in-person community gathering.

Jean lost her grandmother to ALS in 1990 and her mother in 2019. After their passing, Jean confirmed that she carried a gene variant causing ALS. Following a career in the labor movement, she sought with many others to begin a movement for those at risk of genetic ALS and FTD, and today serves as executive director of End the Legacy. She is supported by her husband Jesse and daughter Anna in El Cerrito, California.

Mindy is a carrier of the C9orf72 mutation that causes ALS and FTD. She lost her mother and grandfather to ALS, and in an attempt to spare her children and husband the heartache of seeing her suffer with ALS or FTD, she participates in more than a dozen longitudinal studies across the country. She is the author of Last Nerve: A Memoir of Illness and the Endurance of Family, which will be published in 2025.

Hope Through Caring Award Honorees

   Brian Davis and Katy McNeil

Brian Davis has been a patient of the Lois Insolia ALS Clinic at the Les Turner ALS Center at Northwestern Medicine since his bulbar ALS diagnosis in October 2022 on his 36th birthday. He met his wife and now caregiver Katy McNeil ten years prior when they were both students at the University of Michigan Law School. Brian practiced corporate law in Chicago for almost a decade before his retirement due to ALS. Katy is a law firm partner whose practice involves providing financing and corporate services for companies in the renewable energy industry.

Since his diagnosis, Brian has participated in clinical trials and studies to provide the ALS community with as much information as possible to combat the terrible impacts of the disease. He has been poked, prodded, zapped, and monitored countless times in the name of medical research. He and Katy have been supporters of the Les Turner ALS Foundation since Brian began using the clinic, including as members of the Young ProfessionALS Board, team captains of the Davis Family Strollers at the Les Turner ALS Walk for Life, and benefactors at the Hope Through Caring Gala.

Since Brian's diagnosis, he and Katy have energized their work networks, friends, and families to raise awareness about the disease, help provide the care and support that families affected by ALS need, and fund research to make ALS a chronic, rather than terminal, disease.

About the Les Turner ALS Foundation

Founded in 1977, the Les Turner ALS Foundation is Chicagoland's leader in comprehensive ALS care and one of the longest-serving ALS groups in the country.

Throughout our history, we have taken an individualized approach to ensure each person living with the disease receives the best quality of care and access to the most promising therapies. We treat each person like family, supporting them every step of the way, and provide their loved ones with answers and encouragement.

Our Les Turner ALS Center at Northwestern Medicine is led by the most well-respected and successful clinicians and researchers in the field, advancing vital care and research in pursuit of life-enhancing treatments and a cure.

 

About ALS

Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) is a disease that weakens the muscles we use to move, swallow and breathe. It can, in some cases, also cause changes in behavior and thinking. The effects of ALS grow more severe over time and eventually become fatal. The symptoms and progression of ALS may vary greatly from person to person, which can make the disease difficult to diagnose, manage, and treat.

There is no cure for ALS yet. But the pace of research has significantly increased in recent years, and organizations like the Les Turner ALS Foundation are ready to provide help and support to people living with ALS, caregivers, and everyone affected by the disease.

Hosted By

Les Turner ALS Foundation
Questions? Please contact us at:

Radisson Blu Aqua

Chicago, IL, USA

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