Last Friday, Scarlett and I went to visit Rob’s office. He took a new job in April, at a start-up called Linqia in San Francisco’s Union Square neighborhood. We hadn’t seen his workspace before, and we were excited to meet his coworkers and see where he spends his days.

The main reason we were there was that Rob was rolling out the #WhatWouldYouGive campaign and asking his company to get involved. We gathered in the conference room, where Rob talked to a large group about the genesis of our fundraiser, and how he hoped to impact awareness through a “day of silence” at Linqia.

While he spoke, Scarlett held court in the corner, crawled around under the conference room table, pulled apart the protective covering on a few chairs, and ate an alarming amount of  bread and cookies. She had the best time of anyone, which is saying something, because I had a really great time, too. The people at Linqia were super supportive and seemed eager to help. After I spoke about our optimism and movements in ALS research, they gathered to take pictures with me and the #WhatWouldYouGive signs that Rob had brought.

The atmosphere in the office felt festive, and although I wasn’t able to talk as much as I would have liked (the din in the room was pretty loud), I did have some great conversations and it’s clear that my husband’s new company is full of incredible people. They also have very cool red walls, and just a generally fun vibe.  Everyone seemed happy to be there, and a couple of women talked about how they always hang out on Friday evenings in the office, sometimes realizing that it is well past time to head home and start their weekends. They like each other. I am really glad that Rob has landed at such a great place.

Within the crowd, I even recognized a woman I used to work with in New York, back in my book publishing days. It was a reminder of where I’ve been and where I am now, but not in a bad way. A lot has changed,  but sitting in that room, surrounded by enthusiasm and encouragement , I was able to feel really good about what we’ve done despite our undesirable situation.

And today is the day. The Linqia team is going to give up their voices. They’ve decided not to do this exclusively in the office, but to ask team members to go out into the neighborhood and experience ordering lunch without the aid of their vocal chords. The company is buying lunch for anyone who will do this, and so far the team has been more than willing to put themselves out there  to raise awareness and money. This is obviously not something that they have to do, and I am so honored that they wanted to be a part of it.

At the time of this writing, the Linqia team has 32 members and is halfway to their goal of $12,000. I look forward to hearing about their day, taking a brief walk in the shoes of someone with ALS.

It’s been a great week for our campaign. My friend Natasha Tuck organized a fundraiser at a local restaurant called Calibur, where 10% of all proceeds on Tuesday were donated to ALS TDI and the #whatwouldyougive campaign. Scarlett, my sister-in-law Robin, my assistant Milka, and I went to enjoy  burgers, fries, and the most addictive milkshakes EVER. I want one right now.

Thanks, Linqia! Thanks, Calibur! Thanks to our now 89 team members and 1400 donors who have collectively gotten us to  $130,533!  You are raising awareness, you are raising money, and you are truly raising my spirits. #Let’sMakeALSHistory #WhatWouldYouGive

Help Linqia reach their goal, or just check out the awesome team members and their stories here.

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