Durham man with ALS uses donuts to inspire random acts of kindness
DURHAM (WTVD) -- After former anchor Larry Stogner's diagnosis, ALS has become very personal to the Eyewitness News team.
Now, we'd like to introduce you to another amazing man.
Chris Rosati, from Durham, also has ALS. But it's how he is spending the time he has left that's changing lives, and maybe someday, the world.
It all started with a Facebook post: Steal a Krispy Kreme truck and give away hundreds of donuts to people all over Durham!
A crime wasn't actually committed. Krispy Kreme got wind of the post and donated a bus full of donuts.
Rosati just wanted to feel alive again by making people smile. He had just been told he was going to die.
Rosati was diagnosed with ALS November 29, 2010.
He lives at home with his wife, Anna, and his two little girls, Delaney, 4, and Logan, 9. His disease has progressed so slowly, he only recently lost the use of his hands. He uses a computer to help him speak at times.
Rosati kept his consulting job until 2013, and then he quit.
"I thought, why not spend my time making people happy," Rosati said.
He tells students at area schools his story, and what's really important in life. At the end of his talks, he tells them about a nonprofit he started, Inspire Media Network.
Rosati challenges students to come up with a BIGG- Big Idea for the Greater Good, like his Krispy Kreme caper.
Last year, his company produced seven BIGG videos to go viral.
"When you are surrounded by kids crying hugging you and telling you 'I want to do something, anything, but I don't have a big idea.' For me, I became obsessed with how to help them," Rosati explained.
Rosati's latest endeavor is BIGG clubs, which will be implemented in 20 area schools next fall.
Rosati says he's not always upbeat, but he does all this to replace the pain he's caused friends and family.
"Every day I wake up and I work on making the world, their world, better."
There is an event benefiting patients and families of ALS, The City of Oaks and Hope Gala, on Wednesday at Babylon Restaurant in Raleigh.
Chris Rosati and Larry Stogner will be honored, and Barbara Gibbs will be the emcee.
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