Ice Bucket Challenge Helped Fund Breakthrough in ALS Research

Remember that one time you dumped an ice cold bucket (or more) of water on yourself for a good cause?  Well it worked!

Back in the summer of 2014, ALS Ice Bucket Challenge was started to raise awareness about the progressive neurodegenerative disease, commonly known as Lou Gehrig’s Disease.

Within days it absolutely exploded as the challenge went viral!  You couldn't check your social media accounts without seeing people film themselves dumping buckets of ice water over themselves, while also challenging others to do the same.

The campaign challenge raised more than $100 million for the ALS Association that year.

Well here's the good news: A study funded by the ALS Association through donations from the Ice Bucket Challenge has used all that money to  identify a new gene that will give scientists another potential target for therapy development.

The gene – NEK1 – ranks among the most common genes that contribute to the disease.

The hope is that every August people will participate in the challenge to continue to raise awareness and money towards finding a cure.

The new campaign, called Every Drop Adds Up, pays homage to the Ice Bucket Challenge, and builds on the idea that when people come together they can make big, impossible things happen.