Strike Out ALS T-Shirt Campaign Gives Back To ALS North Carolina Chapter
August 01, 2018 | Baseball
By Joe Corley
ECUPirates.com
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Representatives from the ECU baseball program, the ALS Association North Carolina Chapter, the Down East Walk to Defeat, ECU Dowdy Student Stores and the ECU administration were on hand Tuesday afternoon at Lewis Field inside Clark-LeClair for the presentation of a check for $5,250 to the ALS Association.
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The money came from the sales of T-shirts during the baseball season, beginning during the Keith LeClair Classic in early March and going through the rest of the schedule. LeClair was the baseball coach for the Pirates for five seasons before relinquishing his duties in June 2002. He died on July 17, 2006, after a five-year battle with ALS.
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"I think we've been doing this for about four or five years," said Bryan Tuten, director of ECU Dowdy Student Stores. "It's something we're really proud of. This means a lot. I was here when he was coaching. It's good to be able to give back to a great cause. I know (Coach Cliff Godwin) is very appreciative of what we're able to do, as far as giving to the ALS Association. It's a connection that we have, and we're very proud of it."
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The baseball program also is involved with the Mustache March fundraiser, which got its start in 2016. Total proceeds from the T-shirt sales from the last two seasons and the three seasons of Mustache March are $32,656, all going to combat ALS. This year the Pirates teamed up with Memphis — Memphis pitcher Blake Bennett's father, Dave, died of ALS in 2013 — to raise $10,856 during Mustache March.
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"As a baseball program we want to give back anytime we can," said Godwin, who played for LeClair from 1998-2001. "Helping Strike Out ALS is something that's real close to our heart, with Coach LeClair losing the battle.
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"In 2016 Charlie Yorgen came up to me and said, 'Hey Coach, what do you think about the entire team growing mustaches for March?' I said, 'Well Charlie, I'm not growing a mustache unless it's for a great cause.' Charlie, he was an Academic All American, he's a pretty smart guy, the next day he walks back into my office and says, 'What do you think about raising money to help defeat ALS?' I said you've got me there, so I'll grow a mustache. We've kept it going and we'll keep it going as long as I'm here just because I think it's a great cause. The kids have fun with it, they grow some crazy mustaches. You've got guys like Turner Brown who can't grow a mustache, so it's a neat deal that we enjoy doing."
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The ALS Association North Carolina Chapter serves nearly 800 families each year, with about 200 newly diagnosed cases each year and losing 200 each year. The money certainly is appreciated.
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"It goes to different things," said Jerry Dawson, the president and CEO of the North Carolina Chapter. "It goes to research, and also to help people that are living with this disease. We have five ALS clinics in North Carolina, and there's the Jim 'Catfish' Hunter ALS Clinic here at Vidant, which we support as well."
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ECUPirates.com
Â
Representatives from the ECU baseball program, the ALS Association North Carolina Chapter, the Down East Walk to Defeat, ECU Dowdy Student Stores and the ECU administration were on hand Tuesday afternoon at Lewis Field inside Clark-LeClair for the presentation of a check for $5,250 to the ALS Association.
Â
The money came from the sales of T-shirts during the baseball season, beginning during the Keith LeClair Classic in early March and going through the rest of the schedule. LeClair was the baseball coach for the Pirates for five seasons before relinquishing his duties in June 2002. He died on July 17, 2006, after a five-year battle with ALS.
Â
"I think we've been doing this for about four or five years," said Bryan Tuten, director of ECU Dowdy Student Stores. "It's something we're really proud of. This means a lot. I was here when he was coaching. It's good to be able to give back to a great cause. I know (Coach Cliff Godwin) is very appreciative of what we're able to do, as far as giving to the ALS Association. It's a connection that we have, and we're very proud of it."
Â
The baseball program also is involved with the Mustache March fundraiser, which got its start in 2016. Total proceeds from the T-shirt sales from the last two seasons and the three seasons of Mustache March are $32,656, all going to combat ALS. This year the Pirates teamed up with Memphis — Memphis pitcher Blake Bennett's father, Dave, died of ALS in 2013 — to raise $10,856 during Mustache March.
Â
"As a baseball program we want to give back anytime we can," said Godwin, who played for LeClair from 1998-2001. "Helping Strike Out ALS is something that's real close to our heart, with Coach LeClair losing the battle.
Â
"In 2016 Charlie Yorgen came up to me and said, 'Hey Coach, what do you think about the entire team growing mustaches for March?' I said, 'Well Charlie, I'm not growing a mustache unless it's for a great cause.' Charlie, he was an Academic All American, he's a pretty smart guy, the next day he walks back into my office and says, 'What do you think about raising money to help defeat ALS?' I said you've got me there, so I'll grow a mustache. We've kept it going and we'll keep it going as long as I'm here just because I think it's a great cause. The kids have fun with it, they grow some crazy mustaches. You've got guys like Turner Brown who can't grow a mustache, so it's a neat deal that we enjoy doing."
Â
The ALS Association North Carolina Chapter serves nearly 800 families each year, with about 200 newly diagnosed cases each year and losing 200 each year. The money certainly is appreciated.
Â
"It goes to different things," said Jerry Dawson, the president and CEO of the North Carolina Chapter. "It goes to research, and also to help people that are living with this disease. We have five ALS clinics in North Carolina, and there's the Jim 'Catfish' Hunter ALS Clinic here at Vidant, which we support as well."
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