Yelp Signs on as Media Sponsor for "National Cornhole Challenge Day" to Support Local Research into an Effective Treatment for Lou Gehrig's Disease

BOSTON, May 9, 2011 /PRNewswire/ -- The Young Faces of ALS Campaign (YFALS) announced today that Yelp has become a sponsor of the "National Cornhole Challenge Day" a day-long tournament being held in South Boston.  The event has also received the support of Harpoon Brewery, which will provide locally brewed beer.  All proceeds will benefit research at the ALS Therapy Development Institute (ALS TDI), a Cambridge, Mass based non-profit biotech devoted to developing effective treatments for ALS.

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"Yelp is all about connecting people to great local businesses. Beyond that, we also look to strengthen the offline connection of passionate and involved activists with each other and local efforts like YFALS," said Damien Smith, Yelp's Boston Community Manager.  "Whether through organizing large scale initiatives like Yelp Helps or by partnering with fun and unique events like the YFALS Cornhole Challenge, Yelp's goal is to show what efforts are happening in Boston's non-profit world and, in the process, bring yelpers together for a good cause."

This is a team event, with a $100 entry fee for each two-person team.  Individual tickets may also be purchased and there are a number of sponsorship opportunities available.  Participants will receive tickets which can be redeemed for food and beverages available through the tournament.  For more information about this event visit www.facebook.com/youngfacesofals and www.yfals.com.

"We are excited to have Yelp as a sponsor of this year's National Cornhole Day event here in Boston.  This is a great family event and their help getting the word out has been amazing.  We hope that the entire ALS community will come out on June 18th and help us help ALS TDI find an effective treatment for this horrific disease," said Alicia Grossi, Northeast Regional Director at ALS TDI.

About Cornhole (a.k.a. Bag Toss)

Cornhole (bean bag toss, baggo or bags) is a lawn game in which players take turns throwing cornhole bags (cotton duck bags filled with feed corn) at a raised platform with a hole in the far end. These platforms are usually made with plywood or plastic and are often decorated. A corn bag in the hole scores 3 points, while one on the platform scores 1 point. Play continues until a player reaches the score of 21

About ALS

Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS, Lou Gehrig's disease) is a progressive, fatal neurodegenerative disease affecting approximately 30,000 people in the United States at any given time.  The average survival following diagnosis is only about 36 months, and onset can occur in teenage years plus every decade of adulthood.  ALS usually progresses rapidly, with patients losing their ability to move, speak, swallow, and eventually breathe on their own. Currently, there is neither a cure nor an effective treatment for ALS.

About the ALS Therapy Development Institute

The mission of the ALS Therapy Development Institute (ALS TDI) is to develop effective therapeutics that slow or stop amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS, Lou Gehrig's disease), as soon as possible. Focused on meeting this urgent unmet medical need, ALS TDI executes a robust discovery program, while running the world's largest efforts to pre-clinically validate potential therapeutics; including small molecules, protein biologics, gene therapies and cell-based constructs. The world's first nonprofit biotech, ALS TDI has developed an industrial-scale platform that allows for the development and testing of dozens of potential therapeutics each year. Built by and for patients, the Institute is the world's only nonprofit biotechnology company with more than 30 professional scientists. In addition, the Cambridge, Massachusetts based research Institute collaborates with leaders in both academia and industry to accelerate ALS therapeutic development. For more information, please visit us online at www.als.net

About Yelp

Yelp (www.yelp.com) is a website that connects people with great local businesses. Yelp was founded in San Francisco in July 2004. Since then, Yelp communities have taken root in major metros across the US, Canada, UK, Ireland, France, Germany, Austria and The Netherlands; Yelp drew an audience of more than 50 million unique visitors in April 2011. Yelpers have written more than 18 million rich, local reviews, making Yelp the leading local guide for real word-of-mouth on everything from boutiques and mechanics to restaurants and dentists. Over 4 million unique visitors also relied on Yelp Mobile to help them making a spending decision on the go. For more information, please visit yelp.com or send an email to [email protected].

Media Contact:    Robert A. Goldstein, [email protected], 617-441-7295

SOURCE ALS Therapy Development Institute