Saturday, October 25th 10 a.m.
Williams Middle School Football Field
625 E. FM 552 (Hwy 205 & FM 552)
Rockwall,TX 75087
ROCKWALL/HEATH, TX (October 24, 2014) It’s no secret that the ALS ice bucket challenge has taken the nation by storm. Everyone from Hollywood celebrities to the nation’s youth has braved a shower of ice water on camera and then challenged friends and family to either do the same or donate to the ALS Foundation. The concept has gone completely viral, and it’s for a great cause to boot.
While new Heath resident Kim Townsend, whose younger brother Clint was diagnosed with ALS (also known as Lou Gherig’s Disease) eight years ago, was grateful to see the ice bucket challenge go viral, she couldn’t help but sense a disconnect with the kids in the videos as to why they were dumping ice water onto their heads.
Wanting to make sure people were getting the message about what exactly ALS is, Kim contacted Heritage Christian Academy in Rockwall (where Clint’s daughter, Emilie, attends) about setting up a mass ice bucket challenge.
Her idea was met with much enthusiasm from the HCA headmaster, Dr. Ron Taylor, and Kim took it a step further with a planned chapel service at the school, where she gave a presentation to students about ALS. She said the main message she wants to convey to kids is the story of her brother Clint – who he was before the illness and how he’s still very much the same person today.
“I want to show them who Clint is, and that just because he’s confined to a wheelchair doesn’t mean he’s stupid,” Kim said. “In fact, Clint’s brain is still very animated.”
Clint, whose infectious personality and visionary talents have helped him become very successful in music, acting, sports, and writing, was diagnosed with ALS eight years ago. Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS) is a disease which slowly kills the nerve cells in a patient’s brain and spinal cord. The effect causes the patient to lose the ability to perform everyday functions, such as eating, speaking, moving, and sadly enough, breathing. Currently, there are no known cures for the illness, and the average life expectancy from initial diagnosis is between two to five years.
The mass ice bucket challenge will take place at 10 a.m. Saturday, Oct. 25 at Williams Middle School Football Field, 625 E. FM 552 in Rockwall.
Kim has been in contact with the Rockwall Fire Department about getting together the buckets and ice water needed to dump over the heads of all participants, and hopes to see a big crowd at the event. Already committed are Rockwall Mayor David Sweet, Fire Chief Mark Poindexter, HCA Headmaster Dr. Ron Taylor and Secondary Principal Robert Huckabee. Mark De Allessandro, stunt double for Sylvester Stallone and Robert DeNiro, will also be there!
Home Depot has agreed to loan buckets, and Twice the Ice in Rowlett is donating ice. Kwik Kopy generously donated flyers, posters and printing services.
Kim doesn’t just want this to be an ice bucket challenge with a large number of people at a big event; she’s going for the world record! Kim recently contacted the Guinness Book of World Records to see exactly what it would take to have this ice bucket challenge become an official world record. The most current official record in their books as of now: 428 people in St. Augustine, Florida on August 23. The unofficial record: approximately 2,000 people in New Orleans last month.
Kim remains completely optimistic that Texas should have no problem beating out the official record, and asks for those who are able to come and get doused in ice water in order to show their support for Clint and all others affected by ALS. To ensure the mission to raise awareness and funds is met through this effort, participants who take the field for the ice challenge will be asked to donate a minimum of $5. The regional ALS chapter is providing red ALS awareness bracelets for participants to gain access to the field.
The LapWrap
While the record-setting ice bucket challenge plan has kept Kim quite busy, she has also managed to come up with a rather nifty invention called the LapWrap, a modified version of a throw blanket designed to completely cover one’s legs, arms and body against cold air.
The whole concept of the LapWrap came about as a means to keep Clint’s muscles from freezing up whenever it gets cold out and Kim is transferring him from the car to his wheelchair. According to Kim, Clint’s muscles freeze up and go rigid if he’s exposed to cold air.
“It’s something that I invented because I saw a need in my brother,” Kim said.
Kim has tried using blankets and throws for Clint, but they were either too long and would drag along the ground or couldn’t sufficiently cover the backs of Clint’s legs. At first, she thought that something like her LapWrap already existed, but after shopping around and searching online, she was unable to locate the kind of blanket her brother needed.
“Out of frustration, and to save time, I asked Beth Black (a friend who sews) if she could put something together and she did it,” Kim said. “And it works!”
Kim said Clint still uses her very first prototype, and in fact, has even suggested that she had something huge in the making with her new invention. While Kim was thinking the LapWrap could be used for the elderly in nursing homes or for little kids in strollers, Clint had a much larger scenario in mind.
“He told me, ‘That’s all great, but what I’m seeing is licensing! People at football games, ice fishermen, soccer fans, campers, outdoor concerts, people who like to sit out on a cold morning and have their coffee,’” Kim said. “He started listing all of these spectator sports and scenarios where people could use this, and he’s right. This is literally something that would benefit anybody of any age, any size, and any health condition!”
Kim said she’s currently in the process of applying for a patent, but the one thing she’s lacking is a sewing contractor or someone to sew the LapWraps for her new business, Servant’s Heart Outfitters, LLC. She said the people she’s shown the LapWrap to have absolutely loved it, including the HCA’s Booster Club.
Of course, Kim also has several ideas on who she wants to get her new LapWraps to, and wants the product to be produced within the state.
“I want to partner with the ALS Foundation and the Wounded Warriors project and give some to them,” she said. “I don’t want it to be done in some other third world country, so I’m hoping to find somebody right here in Texas.”
Walk to Defeat ALS Nov. 8
Kim would also like to invite locals out to the Dallas-Ft.Worth ALS Chapter’s annual Walk to Defeat ALS on Nov. 8 in Addison. The approximately three-mile walk will help raise funds for local ALS chapters to sustain care services for their patients and benefits ALS research projects.
A close friend to the Townsend family, Allison Keegan, started up a team for Clint which people can join for the walk. Team members of Clint’s Caped Crusaders are highly encouraged to wear the silliest cape they can find and take turns pushing Clint around in his wheelchair throughout the walk.
Registration for the event will begin at 9 a.m. at Vitruvian Park (3875 Ponte Ave. Addison, TX 75001), and the walk will begin at 10 a.m.
To learn more about Clint and the ALS Foundation, visit his bio page at the Texas ALS Chapter’s website, http://web.alsa.org/site/TR/Walks/Texas?team_id=320673&pg=team&fr_id=10266
Story by Austin Wells, Blue Ribbon News reporter.
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