Moorestown native draws sketches to raise money for ALS
Moorestown High School graduate Peter Amos is fighting the fight against ALS — every day.
At the beginning of 2015, Amos, now a Washington resident, started the ALS Sketchathon, a year-long fundraiser challenging himself to create and post one sketch every day in the calendar year. As of Thursday, Aug. 6, Amos has posted for 218 days, keeping up with his commitment. If he ever fails to post a sketch, the ALS Sketchathon is over.
How the fundraiser works is simple. Donors need to donate as little as a penny a day, which allows them to see Amos’ sketches. So far donors have donated $19.72 a sketch — over $4,000 — toward the cause. All proceeds Amos raises will benefit the ALS Association’s Evergreen Chapter.
“I am absolutely floored. I was originally shooting for $1,000 and it has quadrupled in over half a year. I can’t put it into words. It is really humbling,” Amos said.
Amos was inspired to start the fundraiser when Richard Taylor, the father of Amos’ then-girlfriend, now wife, was diagnosed with ALS and passed away. Seeing the emotions his wife’s family went through, Amos was compelled to help, but wanted to do something more meaningful.
Amos came up with the ALS Sketchathon in 2014, around the same time the Ice Bucket Challenge got big and brought attention to the disease. He felt the challenge — where participants dumped buckets of ice water over their heads and donated to the ALS Association — was a great way to raise funds and awareness, and was also a nice segue into his sketching endeavor, which began on Jan. 1.
Amos decided to create sketches because it was something that came naturally to him. Growing up in Moorestown, his mother liked to draw and inspired Amos’ artistic side. Working as a researcher for Alzheimer’s disease at the University of Washington’s Neurology Department, he still sketches and sculpts as hobbies. Amos said his strong foundation for art comes from the Moorestown community and the school system.
For the ALS Sketchathon, Amos feels his sketches are a positive product for people to have and enjoy. He usually sketches people or places, inspired by things around him, but also tries to give variety to keep things fresh for donors.
The sketch that received the most positive response was of his wife’s father from the 70s. He received a lot of feedback, mostly from family members, saying how meaningful it was to them.
In addition to a single donation to see that day’s sketch online, donors can purchase original, commissioned sketches for donating at certain levels for extended periods. Anyone giving more than $1 for the day receives access to Amos’ blog notes concerning the sketch or the latest ALS news. Donors can start or stop donating at any time.
“As a scientist, I try to sift through literature about ALS to break it down so donors can understand the research and treatment, and they can feel a little more empowered knowing and talking about ALS,” Amos said.
Amos hopes his fundraiser helps people in a multitude of ways. He hopes those who have dealt with ALS in some way feel a little less lonely. He hopes they take home that their support is doing something for a good cause. And he hopes they realize the ALS Sketchathon isn’t just about him, but about its supporters, too.
“This is people saying they have the capability to help change the world,” Amos said.
Specifically for Moorestown, he hopes residents are inspired to help and do good as well.
“When I was growing up, it was nice to hear about other (Moorestown residents) who have done things to try to improve the world a little more, taking what they learned in Moorestown and doing something good,” Amos said. “I hope (the Sketchathon) inspires them to do that in their own lives either through the Sketchathon or on their own.”
For the future, Amos hopes more people get involved. He recently put out a call to artists to donate their sketches or money for their sketches toward the cause and using #Sketch4ALS to spread the word.
For hitting his halfway mark, he celebrated by sketching in public, giving away ALS bracelets and getting others to sketch with him. He plans to do more events as he reaches goals and other timeline milestones, ultimately leading to an end-of-the-year celebration on Dec. 31, his final day of the ALS Sketchathon.
To donate and learn more about Amos’ fundraiser, visit www.patreon.com/alssketchathon. To learn more about ALS or to donate directly to the ALS Association, visit www.alsa.org.
