#ColdForACause

In 2014 the internet was taken by storm when the ALS ice bucket challenge began, sparking the viral #icebucketchallenge. As you can imagine most people, unless they are members of the Polar Bear Club, do not enjoy swimming in frozen water, let alone having a bucket of it dumped over their head. The challenge began with the option to either donate $100 to ALS research or to dump a bucket of ice water over your head, then challenge someone else to do the same. Most prominent figures such as business men and women, celebrities and even some politicians chose to do both and often exceeded the $100 donation mark.

Founded by Patrick Quinn and Pete Frates in order to promote ALS awareness and to help raise money for research, the #icebucketchallenge gained momentum more and more people began to open up about their struggles with ALS or those of a close friend or family member, what it is and how to help. The #icebucketchallenge managed to raise upwards of $220 million globally as of 2020.

ALS (Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis), widely known as Lou Gehrig's disease, causes a loss of motor neurons. As these neurons disappear muscles become weak and eventually stop functioning altogether. There is currently no cure for ALS and those diagnosed will die due to the disease within 3 to 5 or in rare cases 10 years after being diagnosed. One exception to this statistic is Steven Hawking who lived with ALS for 55 years.

The loss of a loved one to ALS is devastating and hard to watch. Please consider donating to ALS research by going to https://www.als.org/ .

Photo courtesy of Samur Isma via Unsplash