June 30, 2004

STUDENTS HELP TEACHER FIGHT ALS, RAISE $30,000 FOR RESEARCH

Students from Long Island, New York’s Northport High School will travel to Baltimore by bus on June 30 to present a check for more than $30,000 to the Robert Packard Center for ALS Research at Johns Hopkins.

The students, who raised the money through a series of events, wanted to galvanize support for their science teacher, David Deutsch, in his fight against amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, Lou Gehrig’s disease.

Northport High students with teacher David Deutsch (center) and Center director Jeffrey Rothstein.

Diagnosed at the Packard Center in January 2004, Deutsch, 36, experiences frequent muscle cramps, involuntary twitching and poor balance—classic symptoms of ALS. He and his wife Dorothy, who have two sons, ages four and one, came to the Packard Center because of its reputation for collaborative research and its aggressive approach to finding a cure for ALS.

With hopes of fast-tracking a cure, Deutsch’s mother, Jeannette Deutsch Oglesby and her husband, Dr. John T. Oglesby II, donated seed money for a research fund at the Packard Center in David’s honor. The students, teachers, and parents, along with the community of West Sayville, Long Island, bolstered the effort by sponsoring basketball, golf, and other fundraising events. Leading the charge is the school’s National Honor Society, a group of about 300 students, aided by Deutsch’s fellow teachers Don Strasser and David Storch.

“We’re overwhelmed by this outpouring of support,” Packard Center Director Jeffrey Rothstein says. “We look forward to meeting these bright, dedicated students who are showing enormous compassion for their teacher.”

The bus trip to Baltimore will give supporters an opportunity to see how their money will be spent. The group will tour one of the ALS laboratories at Johns Hopkins, following a welcome by Packard Center and Johns Hopkins leadership.

“The best defense against this terrible disease known as ALS is to raise public awareness,” Deutsch says. “It’s easy for me to get depressed, but people with ALS need to become symbols of the disease and advocate for more government and private funding. This funding is critical for researchers at places like the Packard Center who are working to find a cure.”

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