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AL DECESARIS: DIFFERENCE MAKERS GLOBAL COMMUNITY
Al DeCesaris is the founder of Difference Makers Global Community and an advocate for charity work. His passion for charity work developed over a decade ago when he and his sister started organizing events to raise awareness and funds for the research and treatment of Sturge-Weber syndrome, a rare neurological disorder that afflicts his niece Jenna.
Following the ground-breaking discovery of the cause of Sturge-Weber syndrome in 2013, Al created a series of challenging charity adventures in honor of his niece. The first was a solo coast-to-coast bike ride from Santa Monica, California, through 14 states and over 3,000 miles, to Ocean City, Maryland. The following year, without a support team and with no marathon experience, Al covered 22.5 miles per day for three consecutive months as he ran from Lubec, Maine down the entire East Coast to Key Largo, Florida –1,935 miles in all!
In 2017, Al returned to the road for an exciting adventure, which had him hiking the historic Camino de Santiago (Way of St. James) across Spain. Each day of his 31-day, 555-mile journey was dedicated to a different person living with Sturge-Weber Syndrome.
Through his charity adventures, Al has created awareness about Sturge-Weber Syndrome in both the United States and Spain, raised critical funds for medical research, and brought hope to his niece Jenna and countless others living with this devastating disorder. Al also wrote about his experiences on the road and shared those inspirational accounts in his books entitled, Crossing America For A Cure and Running The Coast For A Cure. To further the efforts to find a cure for Sturge-Weber syndrome, Al donates all profits from the sale of his “For A Cure” books to medical research.
Difference Makers
Individuals who make a difference through innovative and inspiring charity work
