2011 Phillies Phestival: A Worthy Cause
June 14, 2011 by Jenn Zambri
Filed under Fan News
The 2011 Phillies Phestival to benefit the ALS Association raised $893,033 this year with a record crowd of 6,800 fans on Monday night.
The Phestival included player autographs, games, prizes, grab bags and photo opportunities.
ALS, or amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, is a fatal disease of the nervous system for which there is currently no cure.
ALS is also known, especially in baseball, as Lou Gehrig’s disease. The disease is named after the famous Yankee because he was one of the first public figures known to have died from the rare disease. Prior to this, few people knew about the illness.
These days, ALS affects approximately five out of every 100,000 people worldwide. It is a devastating illness which gets progressively worse over time.
The Phillies have held the Phestival to benefit research for ALS for 22 straight years now, raising over $12 million total in that time.