If you frequent social medias, then you might notice a trend occurring. The Ice Bucket Challenge or ALS Challenge has taken the social world by storm.

Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), often referred to as “Lou Gehrig’s Disease,” is a progressive neurodegenerative disease that affects nerve cells in the brain and the spinal cord. Motor neurons reach from the brain to the spinal cord and from the spinal cord to the muscles throughout the body. The progressive degeneration of the motor neurons in ALS eventually leads to their death. When the motor neurons die, the ability of the brain to initiate and control muscle movement is lost. With voluntary muscle action progressively affected, patients in the later stages of the disease may become totally paralyzed.1

The Ice Bucket Challenge, founded by the late Corey Griffin, whose death occurred on The 16th of August after a diving incident, was created after friend Pete Frates was diagnosed with ALS. The idea of the challenge is for a bucket full of ice water to be poured on you, the complete lack of feeling and icy shock from the water is supposed to be just an idea of what living with this disease is like. The rules of the challenge are either give $100 to the ALS Association or have a bucket of ice water dumped on your head as well as donate money to the cause.

This challenge has become so popular that celebrities such as Bon Jovi, Justin Timberlake, Ansel Elgort, and many more have accepted the challenge. Videos of these stars completing the challenge can be found on YouTube, Twitter, and other sites. Not only celebrities, but also students here at GC have been challenged as well. The Lady Eagles Basketball and Volleyball team have accepted the challenge and now, The Eagles Eye Newspaper Staff will take on the Ice Bucket Challenge.

1- http://www.alsa.org/about-als/what-is-als.html