With more than $10 million raised to date, Orangetheory’s partnership with Augie’s Quest marks the largest and most concerted effort to advance promising ALS treatments today
Here, leaders from Orangetheory, Augie’s Quest and ALS TDI gather together to showcase the science made possible by the #AQUESTFORMORELIFE movement and a record total of more than $10 million raised over the three-year partnership.
BOCA RATON, Fla. – June 18, 2019 — Thousands of Orangetheory® members across the United States and Canada raised $4.5 million during ALS Awareness Month for Augie’s Quest to Cure ALS, an organization fast-tracking effective treatments and an ultimate cure for amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS). This year’s record-breaking results bring Orangetheory’s total giving to more than $10 million over just three years, making it the most successful campaign in Augie’s Quest history.
Orangetheory’s $10 million donation has allowed Augie’s Quest to support innovative research being done by their non-profit biotech partner, the ALS Therapy Development Institute (ALS TDI). The ALS TDI lab in Cambridge, MA is fit with Orangetheory’s signature orange to honor the company’s outstanding commitment to fast-tracking science to find effective treatments and cures for ALS throughout the three-year partnership. The funding has been critical in enabling ALS TDI to discover and develop cure-driven drugs, like the promising AT-1501 that successfully advanced to Phase 1 Human Clinical Trials in late 2018; supporting an innovative Precision Medicine Program that provides both ALS patients and scientists with invaluable, personalized information and complex learnings; and significantly driving more drugs into the development pipeline.
“Orangetheory’s commitment, generosity and passion to end this disease – one that attacks the very muscles Orangetheory works so hard to keep strong and healthy – is unrivaled, truly unmatched,” says Augie Nieto, co-founder of Augie’s Quest to Cure ALS and chair of the ALS Therapy Development Institute. “This successful campaign continues to be instrumental in advancing promising ALS treatments. Hands-down, Orangetheory and its nation of committed franchisees, studio members and communities will make it possible for us to #EndALS.”
“At Orangetheory, we’re passionate about helping people live a longer, more vibrant life, and that includes those living with ALS,” says Orangetheory President David Carney. “We want Orangetheory franchisees, staff and members to feel that they are doing things for those who can’t, and we’re thrilled that the entire Orangetheory community has chosen to embrace Augie’s Quest in such a meaningful, powerful way.”
This year’s campaign ran in more than 1,100 studios across the U.S. and Canada from May 1 to May 15. Orangetheory studios challenged their members and each other to donate at least $1 per splat point earned. A splat point is earned each minute a member spends in the Orange Zone or Red Zone. The Orange Zone is the member’s target training zone of 84% to 91% of their estimated maximum heart rate. In addition to its daily schedule of fitness classes, Orangetheory studios also hosted an Augie-thon, a specialty in-studio donation class, across all U.S. and Canada locations on May 11. This unique 90-minute class drew hundreds of members and non-members together, each making a $25 donation.
About Augie’s Quest to Cure ALS: Augie’s Quest to Cure ALS is a nonprofit committed to changing the experience of people living with ALS by fast-tracking cutting-edge research to advance effective treatments and an ultimate cure. The organization is galvanizing thousands to join this fight, confronting ALS in an entirely new way, and driving innovative research forward, and at an accelerated pace. We are working to bring an exciting treatment, AT-1501, and many others, to market as fast as we can via our research partners at the ALS Therapy Development Institute. Augie’s Quest was founded m
ore than a decade ago by Augie Nieto, the successful fitness industry mogul behind Lifecycle and Life Fitness who was diagnosed with ALS in 2005 and whose life story was recently chronicled in the award-winning film, Augie. With Augie’s Quest, ALS doesn’t stand a fighting chance. Because ALS isn’t incurable, it’s only underfunded. Please join our quest at www.augiesquest.org.
About the Orangetheory® Fitness: Orangetheory® (www.orangetheoryfitness.com) makes it simple to get more life from your workout. One of the world’s fastest-growing franchise companies, Orangetheory has developed a unique approach to fitness that blends a unique trifecta of science, coaching, and technology that work together seamlessly to elevate participants’ heart rates to help burn more calories. Backed by the science of excess post-exercise oxygen consumption (EPOC), Orangetheory workouts incorporate endurance, strength, and power to generate the ‘Orange Effect’ – whereby participants keep burning calories for up to 36 hours after a 60-minute workout. Orangetheory franchisees have opened close to 1,200 studios in 50 U.S. states and 22 countries. The company was ranked #60 in Inc. magazine’s Fastest Growing Private Companies List and listed as #25 on the 2019 Entrepreneur Franchise 500 list. Visit www.otffranchise.com for global franchise opportunities. For more information, follow Orangetheory® Fitness on Instagram at @orangetheory or visit https://www.orangetheoryfitness.com/.
