It is not how many people wear them, but how many actually understand the meaning of her red “Never Give Up” wristbands: to increase awareness of ALS and to support the work of The ALS Association.
That is how San Jose State University student Michelle Rozzen sizes up the mission of her highly popular “Never Give Up,” wristbands, a project she conceived soon after her father passed away from ALS last June.
Her dream is that one day soon tens of thousands of people across the country will be sporting the wristbands at ALSA’s signature fundraising event: the Walk to D’Feet ALS®, held by ALSA chapters in the spring and fall.
The inspiration for honoring her No. 1 hero, dad David Rozzen, an engineer for TV station KABC in Glendale, Calif., dawned on the 22-year-old during a trip to New York with her family. Everywhere she looked, students wore the Lance Armstrong Foundation “Live Strong” wristbands. A casual conversation with her aunt Helen Welsh, a fashion accessories entrepreneur, quickly became an action plan.
“I thought to myself, ‘why can’t we do something similar to this for ALS because there is so little awareness about the disease,'” said Rozzen, a senior whose major is creative arts with a minor in online news media design.
Rozzen apparently has inherited the same strength and determination as her dad, who continued to work at KABC long after receiving the ALS diagnosis.
Though the 22-year-old resident of Agoura Hills, Calif., suspected the venture would be a sure hit, requests for the wristbands have exceeded all expectations.
The initial shipment of 10,000 wristbands is all but gone as new orders from
friends and family of ALS patients and ALS advocates across the
Rozzen is quick to point out that the support of her immediate family has been paramount in the wristband success. All members, including her mom, Marian, family chairperson for the ALSA Greater Los Angeles Chapter’s Walk to D’Feet ALS®; and two younger brothers, 16-year-old Daniel and 19-year-old Brian, a firefighter, are her top sales assistants, promoting the wristbands everywhere they go.
To place a wristband order, call your local ALSA chapter listed by zip code or state in the directory at http://www.alsa.org/community/default.cfm.
source: http://www.alsa.org/exchange/article.cfm?id=559