ALS Ice Bucket Challenge Progress
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July Volunteers of the Month Jen and Dave Warren 
Jen and Dave Warren loved spending time with Sue Walsh (R) and Maureen Reid (L) at the Walk to Defeat ALS. Dave Warren had torn his rotator cuff and needed to see a physical therapist for rehabilitation. He visited the Hershey Medical Center and met a lovely physical therapist who helped him tremendously. Her name was Jennifer Keefer. After a whirlwind romance, she and Dave married and the duo became the unstoppable Jennifer and Dave Warren of Hummelstown, Pennsylvania.
One would think that Jen’s ALS diagnosis 16 years ago would stop the Warrens. But you may not know Jen and Dave! This mother of two young sons had been a dedicated soccer coach and Boy Scout leader and had led a church youth Bible study class. Even after her diagnosis, with Dave’s unwavering support, she continued in many of those roles and never missed her sons’ hockey and football games, or wrestling matches. Today, Zach is 25 and married, Josh is 22, and Jen was able to see both of her sons’ college graduations. The Warrens are also “parents” to Bella, a beloved 11-year-old emotional support golden retriever.
The volunteer efforts of Jen and Dave are seen every day in the beauty of the ALS “Let Hope Grow” plot the couple started at the Hershey Community Garden. Dave, a landscape architect for Hershey Entertainment Resorts, is on the Board of the Garden and spearheaded the establishment of the ALS plot after a meeting with members of the Chapter’s South Central PA Support Group, who encouraged the Warrens to move forward. Today, the Warrens and five families help with upkeep. The entire Community Garden is a nonprofit organization with many dedicated volunteers contributing produce to local food banks and vases filled with flowers to local nursing homes, hospitals, and even to members of the Chapter’s South Central support group families. Last year, Garden volunteers were able to donate 3,000 lbs. of produce and over 600 bud vases!
Additionally, the Warrens participate in the Hershey Walk to Defeat ALS (they remember when it was held in Harrisburg many years ago) and are celebrities at the Chapter’s Hershey Holiday Party. After her initial ALS diagnosis, Jen was able to take part in a research study on brain-computer interface with Andrew Geronimo, PhD, at the Hershey Clinic.
What’s most important to Jen and Dave is giving back to the ALS community. “I volunteer to raise awareness and help people living with ALS. Thank you to Alair Altiero, PhD, our support group leader, who inspires us to maintain a positive outlook,” says Jen. Giving back is also the Warrens’ way of thanking the Chapter for the programs and services it provides. The Chapter has helped Jen operate her eye-gaze and speech devices, loaned her a manual wheelchair and shower chair, and facilitated obtaining a stair glide. Jen also visits The ALS Association Certified Treatment Center of Excellence at Penn State Health Milton S. Hershey Medical Center. Jen continues, “The team at the Clinic is great. And, I knew Maureen Reid, RN, BSN, the clinic staff nurse, from my time working as a physical therapist at the Hershey Medical Center.”
“The biggest thing is to keep a positive attitude. It feels good to contribute. It’s a two-way street,” say the Warrens. Indeed, it is! Thank you for giving back in so many ways to the ALS community!
When he was only 12 years old, the Warren’s son Zach wrote this beautiful poem, which was published in The Onion, the Literary Journal of Penn State College of Medicine. These words still resonate strongly. Jen ultimately spoke to the students in his class about living with ALS. Thank you, Zach, and thank you to the Warren family for all that you do for the Chapter and the ALS families we serve.
I pretend to be funny
I understand that you have to work for what you want |
