Wright Family ASCO Foundation
Corinne Payne Wright Endowed Chair in Alzheimer's Disease
Good Things Come in Small Packages
With every paycheck, Ron Salars makes a modest contribution to the Corinne Payne Wright Endowed Chair in Alzheimer鈥檚 Disease, optimistic that someday it will help add up to a medical breakthrough.
He understands firsthand the struggles faced by those with neurological diseases 鈥� his daughter has Down syndrome. 鈥淪cientists are just a matter of dollars away from finding critical information about Alzheimer鈥檚,鈥� he says. 鈥淲hat they learn from that research can make an impact on other neurological diseases as well. So, if it takes $1,000 to get there, does it matter that one person gave $1,000 or that a thousand gave $1?鈥�
Salars, a mechanic for ASCO Equipment Co. in Odessa, made his first contribution to the endowment in September 2005 鈥� a memorial to Mrs. Wright who battled Alzheimer鈥檚 -- and pledged to do so as long as he works for ASCO.
Paula Wright Key along with her father and two brothers (Bill, Brax and Steve Wright) established the endowment in August 2005. 鈥淯pon Mom鈥檚 death, many of our employees made donations. While they all were super meaningful for the entire family, Ron鈥檚 gift embodies all that we stand for as a family and a company,鈥� she says.
鈥�(Making a contribution to science) is something I鈥檝e thought about for years, I just hadn鈥檛 researched it enough to find the right opportunity,鈥� Salars says. 鈥淭he Wright鈥檚 gift presented that opportunity, and Texas Tech has the history of being a great institution to support.鈥�