Green Bay local radio and TV personality John Maino performs the ALS Ice Bucket Challenge; Wikipedia
On July 15, 2014, Chris Kennedy, a golfer in Sarasota, Fla., posted a video on Facebook dumping a bucket of ice on his head. Though initially the challenge had nothing to do with ALS Association, it soon spread like wildfire, with celebrities and citizens across the world contributing for the cause.
The ALS Ice Bucket challenge went viral throughout the world, around the same time last year.
People around the world committed to the challenge by dumping an ice bucket on their heard or donating for the cause. More than a year after the challenge first started, ALS Association has raised $ 115 million through the challenge. ALS has announced on their site that 67 percent of the money, $77 million has been allocated for research purposes.
Almost $ 3 million was set aside for continuing fundraising efforts. Around $ 2 million had to be spent for external processing fees for credit card transactions and web overage charges. This happened because of the overwhelming number of web visitors during the challenge. It adds that almost half-million dollars was given towards the "regulatory guidance to speed drug development".
The challenge encourages the nominated persons to record themselves dumping an ice bucket on their heads, followed by nominating five other participants. The nominees usually had 24 hours to comply or give up the challenge by donating for the cause.
Mark Zuckerberg, Bill Gates, George W Bush, Taylor Swift, David Moses, Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella were among the many, who took part in the challenge. Many celebrities from India also took part in the challenge including Sonakshi Sinha, sports person Sania Mirza, Abhishek Bachchan, Bipasha Basu and cricketer Yuvraj Singh.
ALS, or amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, is a progressive neurodegenerative disease that affects nerve cells in the brain and the spinal cord. The ALS Association was established in 1985, as a non-profit organization to provide assistance for people with ALS through research and development.
According to their website, the Association "builds hope and enhances quality of life while aggressively searching for new treatments and a cure".