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November 2005 Champion for Victims of Rare Disease
Last spring Volvo of North America awarded Jack Orchard, MBA ’95, a $25,000 honorable mention in its Volvo for Life competition. Orchard was honored for founding Extra Hands for ALS, a nonprofit that trains students to assist the families of people with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS). Better known as Lou Gehrig’s Disease, ALS is a rapidly progressive neurological disorder that is ultimately fatal. Orchard was diagnosed with it five years ago. A successful entrepreneur working in Russia, he returned to the United States and founded the Jack Orchard ALS Foundation and its prize-winning spinoff, Extra Hands for ALS. Although his mind is unaffected, Orchard has since lost all function in his arms and legs and expects to be on life support within the year. A so-called “orphan” disease with only about 300,000 patients in the United States, ALS receives scant attention from pharmaceutical companies and legislators. Orchard hopes to change that. The Orchard Foundation supports medical research into therapies for the disease and is the chief funder of Extra Hands for ALS, which operates in seven locations across the country. By familiarizing high school and college volunteers with the effects of ALS on the people and families it touches, Orchard believes Extra Hands can develop an army of advocates for government-sponsored research, including stem cell research, and changes in Social Security and Medicare drug benefits. Reflecting the perseverance and optimism of its founder, Extra Hands for ALS has a one-word motto: “Believe!” Families affected by ALS and those who wish to volunteer can find further information at extrahands.org. |
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