Signed Jalen Hurts photograph stolen during ALS charity event at Xfinity Live in Philadelphia

PHILADELPHIA (WPVI) — An ALS charity event was canceled after the grand prize, a signed and framed photo of Jalen Hurts, was stolen in Philadelphia on Saturday night.

The event took place in a private room at Xfinity Live! for the National 50 in 1 Pub Crawl for ALS.

“In Philadelphia, we had the largest crawl in the nation where we raised over $10,000,” said Larry Kaplan, who worked as a volunteer for the event.

Valued at around $500, the photo helped raise thousands of dollars for various ALS organizations. Before the group could choose a raffle winner, the photo was stolen from the charity table.

“Security saw the girl with the play leave the venue. She said she won it. We wanted to draw the winner that evening between 10 p.m. and 11 a.m. She either got on an Uber or Lyft on the corner of the venue,” Kaplan said. “Patients and families would be devastated if someone stole from a charity. I have no idea how much we lost to the organizations , because we couldn’t sell any more lots.”

It’s not just about awareness of the theft, but also about the cause that the groups want to convey to people.

ALS, also known as Lou Gehrig’s disease, destroys nerve cells in the brain and spine. The disease cannot be cured.

“It’s just very disappointing that someone feels like they can just walk away with something they have no right to, especially something that benefits an amazing organization that is doing amazing things for people who are going through such a terrible time suffering from illness,” said Jessica Sweeney. who attended the event with her husband who has ALS.

The money helped raise donations for the ALS Hope Foundation at Temple Hospital, the Hope Loves Company, which provides free support and camps to children of parents with ALS, and Team Gleason, the organization founded by former NFL player Steve Gleason, who suffers from ALS was founded to collect.

Kaplan is confident the 16×20 photo will be found. It has a unique hologram number of WA570204.

“We want an apology to these families. ALS is a fatal disease. It’s a terrible thing that these people are living with,” Kaplan said. “We want this girl to understand what these people live with every day and what their families deal with every day and what took her away.”

The group has filed a police report and it is being investigated, but as of Monday there has been no evidence of any leads.

Anyone with information is asked to call the police at 215-686-TIPS or contact the ALS Hope Foundation at www.ALSHF.org.