Sami Majid, a senior at GBHS, has had first-hand experience with ALS or Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, a neurodegenerative disease that slowly affects a person’s movements. A close friend’s parent was diagnosed and he watched her go from a bright, lively person to seeing that she was unable to move, breathe and overall, not have the capability to handle her old day-to-day activities. 

After his experience, Majid decided he needed to take action. Over a few months, he raised $10,000 for the ALS Association, a nonprofit organization that provides suitable resources for people with ALS. 

“There’s a bunch of other families out there who are dealing with ALS, and I just had to make a difference,” Majid said. 

First, Majid had to research ALS because, even though he had an experience before he started this process, he needed stronger knowledge of what it was. Through his research, he founded the ALS Association, a nonprofit organization that helps families who have experiences  with the disease. 

Next, Majid began contacting local hospitals, asking them for $10,000 in funding that he would use to support the ALS Association. Along the way, he encountered some struggles with people taking him seriously.

“The amount I was asking for, $10,000 they sort of laughed at it like they thought this is way too much money. Why would we be giving this much money to a kid,” Majid said

After lots of reaching out, Majid was able to get ahold of the CEO of Mercy Medical Group in Sacramento. And on October 16th, through a presentation to the CEO, Majid was able to get the $10,000 he was asking for. 

“It’s very encouraging that [the] younger generation of students have an interest in medicine and how disease affects their friends and their family,” Jamal Miller, Chief Administrative Officer at Mercy Medical Group said. “We need to do so much more to provide education, outreach and awareness. There are lots of diseases that people hear about… ALS gets lost.”

Along the way, Majid had support from his parents. From researching ALS to getting the grant, his parents were by his side. 

“You have to celebrate the small victories, because success is not a one shot. It’s the build up of small victories by a group of people” Nabil Majid, a physician at Mercy San Juan and Sami’s father said.