The 2014 Ice Bucket Challenge raised awareness and funds for amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, commonly called ALS.
The viral fundraiser involved people filming themselves having a bucket of ice water poured over their heads, donating money, and challenging others to participate. It spread rapidly across social media during July and August 2014, with celebrities, athletes, politicians, and ordinary users joining in.
ALS is a progressive neurodegenerative disease that damages motor neurons, the nerve cells responsible for controlling voluntary muscles. It is also known as motor neurone disease and, in the United States, Lou Gehrig’s disease, after the famous baseball player whose diagnosis brought public attention to it.
The campaign was associated especially with the ALS Association in the United States, while participants in the United Kingdom often supported the Motor Neurone Disease Association. The challenge generated hundreds of millions of dollars for research and patient services. It is sometimes confused with a general charity trend, but ALS was the specific disease at its center.