The ALS Ice Bucket Challenge

For those of you who are not aware of what ALS is, it stands for Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (or Lou Gehrig's Disease). This disease affects nerve cells in the brain and the spinal cord. The progressive degeneration of motor neurons in ALS leads to their death. When moto neurons die, the ability of the brain to initiate and control muscle movement is lost. With voluntary muscle action progressively affects, those in the later stages of ALS become totally paralyzed.

Pete Frates posted a video that inspired celebrities across the country (such as Bill Gates, Mark Zuckerberg, Jimmy Fallon, etc) to dump a bucket of ice on their heads and speak out for his cause, while donating money to the ALS association.

The challenge is this: People are challenged by others to make a video of themselves dumping a bucket of ice water on their heads, post it to social media, and challenge friends (typically three others) to do the same within 24 hours or donate $100 to ALS (or even do both). The association has reached over #13.3 million dollars in donation as a result thus far.