Our Champions
Caitlin’s Story: How Zumba Changed My Life
The Bellina Family
When you close your eyes and picture a Zumba® fitness class, you probably see a group of people who have showed up to dance and sweat together. There’s loud music, flashing lights and a positive energy zipping around the room.
For Caitlin Bellina, Zumba® is more than that. It’s her sanity.
“I had no idea how important this workout class would become to me.”
In 2014, Caitlin’s husband Matt, a retired U.S. Navy pilot was diagnosed with ALS. Together they have three small boys. Shortly after Matt’s diagnosis, Caitlin took her first Zumba class.
“Being the caregiver of a person suffering from ALS can be draining physically, but more so emotionally. There have been days where the promise of a 5 o’clock Zumba® class with my girlfriends for an hour has been the only thing holding me together.”
Every 90 minutes, someone is diagnosed with ALS. The cause of ALS is unknown, and scientists do not yet know why ALS strikes some and not others. This is why the mission of Augie’s Quest to raise critical funds and awareness to advance cutting-edge research, fast-track effective treatments, and ultimately, find a cure for ALS is so urgent.
Join Caitlin and the Augie’s Quest team in partnership with AV Now for a heart-pumping and inspiring 90 minute Zumba® and Strong Nation™ class on May 8, 2021, with ZES™ Loretta Bates! Registration is free, but you can help make an impact by making a donation to fund ALS research.
There are thousands of families like The Bellina’s that depend on research to continue through the good times and the bad, so that one day in our future they can dance with their loved ones again. Let’s make every beat count as we fight for a cure for ALS.
