Walk for Living Honors the Amazing Residents of the Leonard Florence Center!

Featured in the Chelsea Record! Click here to read the story.

Watch the event on Chelsea Community Cable’s YouTube Channel here.

The 17th Annual ALS & MS Walk for Living, held on a spectacularly beautiful early October day, paid tribute to the amazing residents and staff at the Leonard Florence Center for Living. Over 800 walkers, which included residents, families, staff and supporters from Chelsea, Peabody and surrounding communities, participated in the two-mile, dog friendly walk. It was a day to remember! After walk activities included a BBQ hosted by Chili’s, face painting, live dance performances and petting zoo.

As the country’s first urban model Green House® skilled nursing facility, the Leonard Florence Center provides a level of independence not typically found in other skilled nursing facilities. The Center takes care of more individuals living with ALS than any place else in the world.

This year, the Center’s award-winning Outward Bound program was a focal point. Outward Bound enables residents to enjoy events outside the skilled nursing home environment. Bringing residents, some on ventilators, to an out-of-state event is no small feat—it requires an extraordinary level of coordination, expertise, and care. These outings are a way for our residents to participate in activities that were part of their lives before they became disabled as well as make new memories.

For example, when residents Steve Saling and Patrick O’Brien moved into the Leonard Florence Center for Living in 2010, they never imagined that 15 years later they’d be sitting side-by-side in front row seats at a Saturday Night Live (SNL) taping after hanging out with music superstar Lizzo. But that’s exactly what happened this past spring.

“SNL was the thrill of a lifetime,” said Steve Saling. “We were treated like VIPs and got a meet and greet with Lizzo before the show. It was super cool to see behind the scenes and how they put the show together.”

The 2025 ALS & MS Walk for Living honored John Carroll, a resident of Beverly, MA. Carroll, Managing Principal at The B.C. Group Private Wealth Management, has been an active supporter of the Leonard Florence Center and its residents. Each year John and his team proudly donates an All-Inclusive Boston Celtics Suite Experience to a group of ALS, MS and vent dependent residents and their families. “Sharing is caring,” explains Carroll. “The residents of the Leonard Florence Center inspire me every day with their courage, determination, humor and zest for living.”

To date, the 2025 walk for Living has raised over $80,000, with donations still coming in. It’s not too late to contribute; simply go to the Walk for Living website and click on Donate. Every single dollar raised goes directly back to patient care and programs for the ALS and MS residents. All donations are tax deductible.

Take a look at the photos from this special day. The smiles on everyone’s faces says it all!