MOSES LAKE - A Moses Lake teenager raised $2,000 to combat the disease which killed her aunt.

McKenna Reis' journey started five years ago when her aunt, Betty Reis, was diagnosed with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS). The disease, also known as Lou Gehrig's disease, affects the nerve cells in the brain and spinal cord controlling voluntary muscle movement.

"She first thought that she pulled a muscle," McKenna said. "So none of us saw ALS. We didn't see it coming, and by the time she went into the doctor and they told her she was diagnosed. It happened so fast we weren't expecting it. We didn't really have time to prepare for it by the time she passed away."

Betty's death, a year after her diagnosis, affected McKenna's family, spurring them to start raising money for the ALS Association. The non-profit group funds research, provides assistance, coordinates care with the aim of helping people with the disease, and trying to find a cure.

"My uncle is co-captain of Team Betty and he really gave us the information about the Walk (to Defeat ALS) in the first place," McKenna said. "He really got us started in it and then it just kept going."

McKenna started walking in the Tri-Cities event three years prior, and every year the team named after her aunt has grown. She said the walk is a way to spread information about the disease.

"It helps to get people involved in the cause," she said.

As part of the walk, McKenna raises money, reaching a new goal of $2,000 this year. The first year she raised $1,200, and then the next year she set the goal at $1,500 and raised $1,800.

"My mom helps me a lot. My goal of $2,000, we figured that was a lot of money, and we wanted to add a little oomph to our game plan, so that's when we decided to do a garage sale."

McKenna and her mother collected items from their home, family and friends to sell at the garage sale, raising $840, McKenna said. She used the garage sale to continue spreading information about the disease.

"My uncle gave me little fliers to pass out about ALS, so every bag that people got I'd put a little flier in and then we'd explain what ALS is and how it's close to us," she said.

The garage sale motivated a family friend to start a team. The friend recently had a family member who was diagnosed with the disease, McKenna said.

"There was also this little girl, her mom was shopping around and bought a couple of things and they went away. When they came back, the little girl had this huge bag of change that she donated to us. It was like $8.50 in coins. That was really nice of her too."

The team totalled $4,280 for the association, making it one of the top teams participating in the Tri-Cities event.

McKenna plans to continue participating in the walk, saying her sister is starting to become involved as well.

"I have fun raising money to make a difference. It gives you a good feeling that I'm actually making a difference in ALS research and progress," she said. "It keeps the memory of my aunt alive too and it gives my family and I an opportunity to get together and do something that we love to do in the memory of my aunt."