The ALS ice bucket challenge has taken the world by storm during these past few weeks.  No one really knows how the ice bucket challenge began, but one thing is for sure – how popular it became so quickly.  Facebook and Instagram newsfeeds are filled with people dumping buckets of water on themselves and others.  Anyone from little toddlers to Bill Gates have been partaking in this challenge.

The ice bucket challenge became a popular trend in the beginning of August.  Through social media, people are nominated to dump a bucket of ice cold water over their head, or make a donation towards the ALS Foundation. They then have the opportunity to nominate more people to do the same.  In many cases, people did both the ice bucket challenge and made a donation.

ALS, which is short for amyotrophic lateral sclerosis is a disease which affects the nerves in the brain and spinal cord.  As the motor neurons die, muscle movement is lost leading to paralysis and eventually death.  Also known as Lou Gehrig’s disease, ALS affects around 30,000 people in the United States at a given time. After being diagnosed, the average life expectancy is between two to five years.

Like any popular trend, the ALS ice bucket challenge received criticism about its effectiveness.  People were questioning whether or not dunking a bucket of water over someone was helping fight ALS.  Although not everyone has made a donation towards ALS, they still nominated other people to do the challenge – other people who may have donated money.  The ultimate goal of the ALS ice bucket challenge was to raise both awareness and money for ALS.  The challenge has definitely been successful in both ways.  During the past month, donations to the ALS foundation have drastically increased from less than 2.5 million dollars last year during this time, to 62.5 million dollars.

Check out what Niles North faculty and students think about the ALS ice bucket challenge and watch Dr. McTague complete the challenge in the video above.

For more information on ALS or ways to donate to the ALS foundation, visit http://www.alsa.org/