Supporting the ALS Ride for Life

Lawrence students donate to Chris Pendergast's cause

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Raising money to support the Ride for Life that Chris Pendergast does annually has become a tradition in the Lawrence School District and this year there was a twist for Lawrence Elementary School students.

To “Put ALS to Bed” the third-, fourth- and fifth-graders could wear either their pajamas or a baseball hat for a $1 donation last Thursday to help Pendergast, who suffers from Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS), also known as Lou Gehrig’s disease, as he completed his ride from Riverhead to New York City. Gehrig, famous for his Major League baseball ironman streak, died of ALS in 1941.

Elementary and middle school students stood along Rock Hall Road and saluted Pendergast as he went by in his motorized wheelchair with handmade posters on May 19. Lawrence was his last stop before heading into the city.

Pendergast, a retired teacher from Miller Place, founded the federally recognized charity organization Ride for Life, Inc. in 1998.