You’ve probably seen the ALS Ice Bucket Challenge blowing up your newsfeed. Everyone from President Obama to Mark Zuckerberg to Jimmy Fallon have taken part in this challenge. Whether you consider it a fad or not, it’s still doing a lot of good and raising a lot of awareness for a disease that many people don’t know much about.
What is the ALS Ice Bucket Challenge?
The Ice Bucket Challenge was started in the Boston area in early August. Friends and Family of former Boston College baseball player Peter Frates doused themselves with buckets of icy cold water and challenged others to do the same to raise awareness of the diseas. Peter Frates was diagnosed with ALS in 2012 and is now paralyzed, being fed through a feeding tube and unable to talk. He is only 29 years old.
Since then, you’ve probably seen your friends and family partake in the icy challenge. While some have criticized it as a “fad,” the challenge has raised millions for ALS (ALS Society and Tim Frates Foundation are two benefactor organizations from the campaign).
Essentially, if you’re challenged you have 24 hours to pour a bucket of ice water over your head and nominate others to do the same. If you ignore the challenge you’re supposed to donate $100 to ALSÂ (some have said that you still donate $5-20 even if you accept the challenge).
The other day, the team here at parsonskellogg participated and challenged some of our favorite people.
If you haven’t participated yet, consider yourself challenged!