At the 2012 General Convention in Washington, D.C., Neil was initiated into Phi Delta Theta as a member of the Pennsylvania Iota (Pittsburgh) Chapter. The Phi Delta Theta community has embraced the Alexander family, and the Alexander family has embraced Phi Delta Theta.<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n

In December of 2012, the Alexander family introduced a collection of LiveLikeLou scholarships eligible to Phi Delta Theta undergraduates whose lives have been affected by ALS. The first scholarship, a $1,500 amount that renews each year, was awarded to Phi David Martin, Creighton \u201915, of Burlington, Wisconsin.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

David is the second oldest of six children. His father, James Martin, 45, was diagnosed with ALS two and a half years ago and has had to retire from his occupation due to the illness.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Neil has also spent much time speaking to Phi Delta Theta undergraduates about the disease and was part of the Phi Delt presentation team this past summer in San Francisco, when Barry Zito of the Giants was given the Lou Gehrig Memorial Award.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI am awestruck by Neil\u2019s courage and character in fighting ALS head-on,\u201d said Chris Brussalis, Member at Large of Phi Delta Theta\u2019s General Council and board member for The ALS Association. \u201cBecause of men like Neil and Lou Gherig, Phi Delta Theta\u2019s partnership with The ALS Association isn\u2019t just a charity, it\u2019s very personal for us. I am proud to call Neil my brother and to be a part of an organization that is so committed to fighting alongside him to beat this disease. Phi Delts across North America are raising hundreds of thousands of dollars each year to find a cure, and all 200,000 of our brothers will always have Neil\u2019s back.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Neil is a real-life Lou Gehrig. He embodies everything that Brother Gehrig stood for, and would be the first to tell you that he considers himself the luckiest man on the face of this earth. Neil\u2019s appreciation for everything in life, no matter the circumstances, is contagious. His goal, \u201cto leave ALS better than he found it,\u201d is simply inspirational and parallels a pledge that all members of Phi Delta Theta have taken. Our Fraternity is a better organization because of the Alexanders, and many of our members would tell you that they are better men because of their relationship with Neil.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

By Steve Good with excerpts from The Pittsburgh Foundation\u2019s Neil Alexander: A Story of Strength in the Face of Tragedy […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":28885,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[23,44,45,508],"tags":[427],"class_list":["post-18119","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-brotherhood","category-ghq-staff-blogger","category-philanthropy-service-als","category-the-scroll-articles","tag-livelikelou"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\n