By Pat Quinn and Pete Frates
Co-Founders, ALS Ice Bucket Challenge

Five years ago, in the summer of 2014, we challenged our friends and family to dump buckets full of ice water over their heads to raise awareness and funds for ALS. What started as a crazy idea turned into one of the biggest grassroots movements in history.

Over the next few weeks, athletes, celebrities, politicians, families, and friends around the world took the Challenge and changed the fight against ALS forever. Over 17 million people around the world took the ALS Ice Bucket Challenge and globally over $220 million was raised for ALS organizations.

The Ice Bucket Challenge had an immediate and profound impact on the fight against ALS, and the search for effective treatments and cures.

Since 2014, the funds raised by the Challenge led to the discovery of new ALS genes, the creation of new assistive technologies to help people with ALS, and the development of new potential treatments in the pipeline. In addition, people diagnosed with ALS are getting better care services than ever before.

But there isn't a cure or life-prolonging treatment yet. So this year, we have a new call-to-action to the world on behalf of our ALS community.

CHALLENGE ME.

When Pete was first diagnosed with ALS in 2012, his doctor told him that there were no cures or effective treatments. Pete asked how much it would cost to find one and his doctor said, "It would take a billion dollars." Pete told his doctor: "I’m going to go get that billion dollars."

We have outlived the two - five year expected survival rate for someone with ALS. We’ve lost the ability to walk, talk, eat, use our limbs, and breathe on our own. Our only way to communicate with the outside world is through assistive technology that tracks our eye movements.

It hasn’t been easy – every day literally brings a new challenge. But, every day, we challenge ourselves to fight against this devastating disease.

CHALLENGE ME.

Those two words capture our shared mindset about ALS since the day we were each diagnosed. Those words sum up the spirit of the ALS Ice Bucket Challenge and all our efforts to raise awareness and support for people living with ALS and their families ever since.

Five years ago, you accepted our challenge, you lifted your ice buckets, and you gave our ALS community a real sense of hope – the hope that this would be the beginning of the end of ALS. Now we need to finish what we started.

We’re now calling on you to do whatever you can to challenge yourself to help us beat ALS, even if it’s just adopting our call to action. Have fun, be creative, and commit to do as much as you can and whatever you can for everyone in our ALS community.

CHALLENGE ME TO PARTICIPATE.
Join us for our many community outreach events.

CHALLENGE ME TO ADVOCATE.
Urge your elected representatives to support legislation that benefits our ALS community.

CHALLENGE ME TO DONATE.
Your gift will help support the mission of the Golden West Chapter.

Together, we can all change the world again. Together, we can defeat ALS.

CHALLENGE ME

The CHALLENGE ME campaign picks up where the ALS Ice Bucket Challenge left off. This time, the ALS community is challenging everyone to do anything and everything they can to cure ALS. Learn more about how our chapter is making an impact in the fight against this disease.