On Tuesday, Michael and Megan Bereman of Apex were surprised with a $5,000 gift to help pay medical bills and other costs associated with ALS treatment. The family received the donation from Paint for a Cure, a nonprofit founded to ease the financial burden on families affected by ALS.

Handing over the check was Nikki Thompson, who received a similar check from Paint for a Cure in November. Although her husband, Darin, passed away in early January, Thompson wanted to help provide another family with the same gift that hers had received.

Michael Bereman, an assistant professor at North Carolina State University, has been living with ALS for six years. Thompson, who also lives in Apex, connected with Bereman’s wife, Megan, through years of the treatment process.

Paint For A Cure was founded by Eric and Jen Weinbrenner of Phoenix, Ariz., following Eric’s ALS diagnosis in 2019. The organization’s mission is to ease the financial burden of ALS treatment, with the main goal to provide medically accessible housing to those who cannot afford those necessities.

The initiative for this organization came from Eric Weinbrenner’s love for art and specifically painting. The group’s aim is to connect with artists, asking them to donate their work, or create something special for the cause, which is then auctioned off to support the homes being built for these families.

“Through the power of painting, we’re excited to dramatically change the lives of families impacted by this terrible disease,” Eric and Jen Weinbrenner write on the nonprofit’s website.

For more information about Paint for a Cure or to donate, please visit paintforacure.org.