ALS hits hard. No question, whether you are living alone, a single father, a mother of three, a grandparent, a college student, a professional athlete… life gets flipped, and your priorities shift. Some people choose to live privately with their disease. Others become activists in their own communities. Still others fight to position themselves at the front door of pharma companies, research institutions, and regulatory bodies, advocating for sustainable change. Sandy Morris (July 2, 1966 – August 28, 2022) was one of those individuals who chose to make a ripple in how things are currently don ..read more

November 6, 2022 Team Challenge ALS On November 6th,  Samantha (Sammi) Fernandez will run the New York City Marathon. The 26.2 mile race will take runners through all five boroughs of New York City, starting on the Verrazano–Narrows Bridge on Staten Island and passing through Brooklyn, Queens, Manhattan, and the Bronx, before finishing in Central Park. So iconic. So Sammi. Sammi is a San Luis Obispo, CA native, and Martha’s niece. She is running with the Team Challenge ALS team hosted by the ALS Association New York City Chapter. View her marathon page here. Marathon’s are exhilarating, e ..read more

Save the Date: October 1, 2022 Where: Cypress Ridge Golf Course Can you believe it has been 10 years since the first MOFF golf tournament at Blacklake Golf Course? Neither can we. Registration will open this summer. You don’t want to miss this one! Golfing to find a cure for ALS ..read more

The Martha Olson-Fernandez Foundation Hike x Brunch tradition continues!   Saturday, February 26th and Sunday, February 27th  9:00 AM- 11:00 AM  Traditional Hike: Hike Felsman Loop in SLO and bring a flower to Martha’s memorial bench. The MOFF team will be at Patricia Street entrance of Felsman Loop in SLO from 9AM – 11AM.  Refreshments and flowers will be at the trailhead entrance. Virtual Hike: Hike and let us know you hiked! Hike at your favorite location and post a photo/selfie on social media. Be sure to tag MOFF @moff.cureals and hashtag #cureals #nevergiveu ..read more

The ThinkALS tool was developed by the ALS Association to assist clinicians in the ALS differential diagnosis process. ALS takes on average 1 year from time of onset to a definitive diagnosis. The obvious reason a rapid diagnosis is not possible is that a diagnostic biomarker for ALS does not yet exist. That is to say, you can’t run a lab test on a nasal swab and detect ALS, but rather every other condition must be ruled out first. Conditions commonly confused with ALS include spinal muscular atrophy, peripheral neuropathies, infections such as Lyme disease and hepatitis C that cause muscular ..read more

Who is Don Woodward? Don Woodward is a legendary member of the San Luis Obispo, CA community. He was an incredibly talented football player, golfer, and businessman. His name is well known in the car industry in California where he started his business career at one of his grandfather’s dealerships, Lompoc Honda. Don’s name is one that brings a smile to everyone’s face that knew him and “f*#k ALS” energy to those who understand he was taken when he had much more life to live. Don’s wife at the time, Maggie Woodward, selflessly cared for Don through his ALS journey. She remains a pillar of stre ..read more

Ken Brenner is an incredibly talented artist living with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS). His talents hardly stop at art. An athlete, successful Silicon Valley banker, husband, and father of 3 children and grandfather of 2, Ken has lived a full life thus far, and has much more to live. Ken was diagnosed with ALS in late 2020. The diagnosis and his disease progression sent shock waves through the Brenner family. It forced Ken to retire from a long banking career which he was not ready to be done with. His wife also retired, and their children moved back to CA from New York City to be with ..read more

The Martha Olson-Fernandez Foundation will donate $30,000 from their upcoming 9th Annual Golf Tournament (02-Oct) to the Expanded Access Protocol (EAP) Program at the Healey Center for ALS at Massachusetts General Hospital. Here’s why: Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) is a fatal, neurodegenerative disease that affects roughly 9 out of a 100,000 people in the United States at any given time1. Put in more relatable terms, the average person has a 1 out of 300 chance to develop ALS in their lifetime 2. There are currently only 3 FDA approved therapies indicated in the treatment of amyotrophic ..read more

   It’s golf tournament season! The 9th Annual Martha Olson-Fernandez Foundation Golf Tournament is approaching quickly! We look forward to golfing to find cure for ALS with all of you. Tournament Details:  Where: Cypress Ridge Golf Course When: October 2, 2021 Don’t hesitate! Registration will close on September 10th 2021 Click the registration form image below to view tournament details. Click Here to Register ..read more

Welcome to the Martha Olson-Fernandez Foundation Fiesta Dinner This event is held each year to honor the winner of the Fiesta Raffle at the Martha Olson-Fernandez Foundation (MOFF) Golf Tournament. The winner of this year’s dinner was: Sean St. Dennis! All raffle earnings were donated to the ALS Association Golden West Chapter and were earmarked for patients living on the Central Coast of California. This funding is incredibly important. ALS can cost a single family up to $200,000 of out of pocket expenditures a year. We are honored to host Sean and Patty St. Dennis and their guests. We hope e ..read more