BATON ROUGE — Several members of LSU’s athletics teams participated in the “Walk to D’Feet ALS” along the Mississippi Rive levee and the “Buddy Walk” for Down Syndrome at Ochsner Hospital on Saturday morning.
The women’s soccer team and half of the baseball team participated in the Louisiana Chapter of the “Walk to D’Feet ALS”. The two-mile walk began at 10 a.m. at the Mississippi River levee at the end of Skip Bertman Drive. This was the second annual Baton Rouge “Walk to D’Feet ALS”.
Members of the baseball and soccer teams had raised money in advance for the cause. Following the walk, members of the baseball team also signed baseballs for teams.
The Walk is the ALS Association’s national signature event. ALS is more commonly known as Lou Gehrig’s disease after the well known baseball player who suffered from the deadly disease. It is in its seventh year nationally with approximately 150 Walks will be held around the country. Last year, walkers nationwide raised over $10 million in support of cutting-edge research and patient services programs.
The other half of the baseball participated in the “Buddy Walk” at Ochsner Hospital. The walk helped to raise money and awareness for the National Down Syndrome Society.
These events are set up through the Shaquille O’Neal CHAMPS/Life Skills program. The CHAMPS (Challenging Athletes Minds for Personal Success)/Life Skills Program was designed by the NCAA to help student-athletes realize higher academic achievement, increase likelihood of graduation and enter a chosen profession with a higher level of vision, knowledge, motivation, self-responsibility and greater overall success. In Spring 2003, the CHAMPS/ Life Skills Program at LSU honored one of the Tigers’ most memorable graduates, Shaquille O’Neal, by naming the program after him.