ALS Ice Bucket Challenge returns Saturday

Frates, who played baseball at Boston College, was honored at Fenway on Opening Day this year when the team signed him to a symbolic contract.

ALS (amyotrophic lateral sclerosis) is a progressive neurodegenerative disease that affects neurons (nerve cells) in the brain and the spinal cord.

People from all over the world poured buckets of water over their heads to raise money for ALS. It can lead to muscle weakness, lose of the use of arms and legs and difficulty breathing, speaking and swallowing. Throughout the month, each Club from the San Francisco Giants to the Florida Marlins will take the challenge and challenge another franchise, along with two local personalities or organizations.

“As the sport of Lou Gehrig, Baseball’s longstanding participation in the fight against ALS dates back to 1939”, MLB commissioner Rob Manfred said in a statement. “Pat and I can’t wait to kick things off this Friday at Fenway”.

The challenge became a viral hit last summer, easily becoming the most successful research fund raising campaign associated with the disease.

The ALS Society of Quebec is trying to make the ice bucket challenge a viral phenomenon for the second straight year.

Led by co-founders Pete Frates, Pat Quinn and Anthony Senerchia, and with the help of celebrities, the Boston Red Sox and Major League Baseball (MLB), the ALS Ice Bucket Challenge is making a splash again this August. Major League Baseball is also donating $100,000 to The ALS Association.

The ALS Association is the only national non-profit organization fighting Lou Gehrig’s Disease on every front. The ALS Association says challenge videos that were posted on Facebook were watched a total of 10 billion times by 440 million people.

Most of that money goes back to research, the patients, and their families.