The ALS Ice Bucket Challenge is Back

By LINDA BOCK (Patch Staff)

The worldwide phenomenon know as the Ice Bucket Challenge to raise money and awareness for the ALS Association is coming back in August.

Last summer, an international sensation started in the Northeast part of the United States, whereby people poured buckets of cold ice water on themselves while challenging friends and family to spread ALS awareness via a shared video, according to the ALS Association. The viral phenomenon, known as the Ice Bucket Challenge, brought in more than $220 million for the fight against ALS, also known as Lou Gehrig’s disease.

A Massachusetts man was one of the founders. Pete Frates, who was diagnosed with ALS in 2012, grew up in Beverly, Mass., attended and played sports at St. John’s Prep School in Danvers, Mass. He was a former captain of the Boston College baseball team and professional baseball player in Europe.

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The association dedicated to finding a cure ALS recently launched a campaign to bring back the Ice Bucket Challenge in August, and every August, until there is a cure. The hashtag for the campaign is #ALSIceBucketChallenge.

The ALS Association provides information about the Ice Bucket Challenge:

What is the ALS Ice Bucket Challenge?
The ALS Ice Bucket Challenge started in the summer of 2014 and became the world’s largest global social media phenomenon. More than 17 million people uploaded their challenge videos to Facebook; these videos were watched by 440 million people a total of 10 billion times. It is now an annual event to raise awareness and funds to find treatments and a cure for amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS).

View this infographic.

How do I participate in the ALS Ice Bucket Challenge?

1. ACCEPT: Accept the challenge;
2. RECORD: Take a video of yourself dumping a bucket of ice water over your head to increase awareness of ALS;
3. UPLOAD: Upload your video to social media, tagging/challenging at least three of your friends;
4. GIVE: Make a donation to support the ALS community.

Do I have to donate if I take the challenge?

No, by participating in the ALS Ice Bucket Challenge you’re already raising awareness of the disease. Making a donation, however, will help drive forward the search for treatments and a cure for ALS by funding cutting-edge research and supporting people living with the disease. So participating and donating is ideal.

Who started the ALS Ice Bucket Challenge?

The ALS Ice Bucket Challenge existed in the sporting world and had been used with other causes in the past. It started with a professional golfer named Chris Kennedy, who challenged his sister, Jeanette Senerchia in Pelham, New York. Jeanette’s husband Anthony has ALS. Through Facebook, one of her friends was connected to Pat Quinn in Yonkers, New York, who was connected to Frates in Boston, Mass. Pat and Pete are both young men battling the disease and their social networks blasted the ALS Ice Bucket Challenge out of the Northeast to places across the country and even the globe. Watch co-founders of the ALS Ice Bucket Challenge talk about it here.

What if I live in a drought area, should I still take the ALS Ice Bucket Challenge?

Yes! Here are some ideas for how you can still participate in the #ALSIceBucketChallenge if you live in a drought area: Take the challenge in an existing body of water (lake or ocean, for example); be creative and fill your bucket with an alternate substance like spare button, kale or good karma; or, bypass the first few steps of the challenge and make a donation to support the ALS community.

Will the ALS Ice Bucket Challenge take place again this year?
Yes. The challenge will take place this August and every August until there is a cure.

When will it start this year?
The founders of the ALS Ice Bucket Challenge will kick things off in a big way at the end of July so that people can include the ALS Ice Bucket Challenge in their summer activities for the entire month of August. It will again be a fun and exciting way for people to get involved in supporting a very worthy cause.

Information and video credit: ALS Association.

So you want to take the ALS Ice Bucket Challenge?

Watch How to Ice Bucket video.