The Ice Bucket Challenge Turns 10
In the summer of 2014, the Ice Bucket Challenge took the internet by storm.
The viral fundraiser, aimed at raising awareness for ALS—a progressive motor neuron disorder also known as Lou Gehrig’s disease—inspired millions to participate and support the cause.
The challenge was co-founded by Beverly native Pete Frates, who in 2012, at age 27, was diagnosed with ALS. Rather than let the disease define him, Frates readied for action.
While the worldwide phenomenon of the Ice Bucket Challenge peaked in 2014, its impact has endured, along with the legacy of Pete Frates, who died on Dec. 9, 2019. Ten years later, the Frates family is celebrating a decade of the challenge’s impact while hoping to bring ALS awareness to a new generation.
On Sept. 5, Trustee Nancy Frates stood in front of Peter Frates Hall "freezing for a reason," along with her husband John, countless Gulls, Manager of Community Engagement & Events for the ALS Foundation Paul Seaver, and Endicott President Steven R. DiSalvo, Ph.D.
Since its inaugural Ice Bucket Challenge at the Sept. 14, 2016, dedication of Peter Frates Hall, where 1,500 Endicott community members lifted buckets over their heads to recognize the Frates family, Endicott has continued this tradition, keeping Pete’s memory and the fight for ALS at the forefront of every academic year.
“I can’t tell you how important this is to all of us at Endicott,” President DiSalvo told the packed Frates Hall crowd. “Pouring water on your head may seem like a pretty simple mundane thing to do, but when you pay it forward to other people to do it you can tell the story, you can mobilize people to raise awareness, to raise money, and do some good in the world.”
“Pete had an affirmation that he used to inspire his peers and teammates,” Frates told the crowd moments before the challenge. “I say this affirmation every day, and I hope you’ll be inspired by it: Be passionate. Be genuine. Be hardworking. And don’t ever be afraid to be brave.”
Continuing Pete’s mission to strike out ALS
Earlier this summer, Frates kicked off the 10th anniversary of the Ice Bucket Challenge with an Aug. 1, 2024, group dousing at Fenway Park—a location rich with significance.
A decade earlier, Fenway was the site of Pete’s personal Ice Bucket Challenge. As a Boston College 亚洲色吧 player, Pete cherished the memory of hitting a home run at Fenway during his junior year.
Reflecting on the beginnings of the Ice Bucket Challenge, Frates credited her son’s ability to connect with others and spread his kindness and compassion. Even as he processed his diagnosis in March 2012, Pete told his distraught family, “We’re going to get to work,” his mother recalled.
“When you have adversity, don’t let that define you; this is the lesson he taught us,” Frates continued. “He was 27 years old when he was told he had two to five years to live, that his body was going to be taken away from him every single day, that there was no treatment and no cure. And that night, he thought about others.”
By the time the initial challenge wound down in September 2014, the numbers were staggering: 17 million Ice Bucket Challenge videos had been viewed 440 million times in 159 countries. The first night of the challenge alone raised $1 million for the ALS Association. That number rose to $220 million in six weeks from 2.4 million donors.
“Facebook had our family visit in 2015 to tell us we almost broke their platform,” Frates shared. “They were as stunned as we were.”
After his diagnosis, Pete was intent on getting Major League Baseball (MLB) to take ownership of the disease that claimed the life of its namesake, MLB legend Lou Gehrig, in 1941. Eighty years later, that initiative became a reality when the MLB announced that June 2 would forever be celebrated as Lou Gehrig Day to recognize the legendary player and bring awareness and funds to ALS research. Pete’s alma mater, Boston College, also hosts a yearly ALS Awareness Game, usually played at Fenway Park.
Frates said her family is often asked two questions about the Ice Bucket Challenge: “How did it happen?” and “What happened to the money?” As for how the challenge was born, Frates said Pete was a networker who made enduring connections. “When he asked you to help,” she said, “you did.” She also described how Pete’s joy and positivity became the foundation for strangers to record themselves drenched with ice-cold water for the greater good.
Regarding the funds raised, Frates highlighted her family’s advocacy for ALS patients, focusing on improved research funding and personal support through the Peter Frates Family Foundation. The foundation’s grants help ALS patients cover out-of-pocket healthcare expenses, enabling them to receive care at home. After Pete returned home with a ventilator in 2015 following a long hospital stay, the Frates family aimed to offer this option to others.
“That has become our mission,” Frates explained. “We work very hard to raise money for research, but we want to help people on the ALS journey today.”
Frates recalled that her 2015 meeting with Facebook executives inspired the idea of adding a ‘donate’ button to fundraising videos on social media. Years later, the Frates family met with then-COO Sheryl Sandberg, who revealed that these tools, spurred by the Ice Bucket Challenge, had raised over $7 billion for various causes.
“That’s probably Pete’s biggest legacy,” Frates said. “The world of philanthropy had a trajectory change in 2014.”
Frates noted that the initial $220 million raised in 2014 has been used to establish more than 550 ALS research projects in 18 countries, including the discovery of 12 genes that play a role in ALS, two effective treatments for disease symptoms, a doubling of clinical trial sites, and a tripling of both NIH funding for the disease and the number of clinics available to assist ALS patients. The Ice Bucket Challenge also led to a change in the law dictating social security disability insurance, eliminating the six-month waiting period for benefits to kick in.
“We still don’t have a cure,” Frates said. “We’re working hard, but we don’t have it yet.”
In the meantime, the Frates family is bringing back the polar “Plunge for Pete” on Dec. 28, 2024, in honor of Pete’s 40th birthday. She asked anyone who participated in the 2014 Ice Bucket Challenge to re-share their video when it hits their social media feed or record a new one, with the hope that it might spur others to action.
“You never know,” she said, “what might affect another person to make a move.”