A shivering sensation

ALS Ice Bucket Challenge sweeps nation

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If America was a person, it would be drenched in ice water.

The Ice Bucket Challenge is simple — film yourself dumping a pail of frigid water on your head, upload it social media, and challenge others to do the same within 24 hours or donate to the ALS Association. Everyone from celebrities to professional athletes is taking part in the freezing phenomenon.

On Aug. 11, a soaked Justin Timberlake sent a video challenge to late night TV star, Jimmy Fallon.

“You’ve got 24 hours to donate at least $100 or douse yourself with ice. (Or both. We did both … and then we donated a bunch more. It’s such a good cause),” Timberlake posted on Facebook.

The next evening on the Tonight Show, Fallon obliged the singer’s demand by pouring ice on himself, along with his house band, The Roots. Fallon then nominated the New York Jets.

The following afternoon, the Jets enlisted the help of the Cortlandville Fire Department, which blasted the team with fire hoses to complete the challenge. Now it’s the Yankees’ turn as the buckets keep on dropping.

Since July 29, the challenge has attracted more than 70,000 new donors to the ALSA’s mission to combat amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, also known as Lou Gehrig’s disease.

The challenge is open to anyone. For Matt Bayley, 20, who lives in Medford, ice water had never felt so bad, yet so good. “The day of, my friend had everything set up,” said Bayley. “He had a huge bucket and he’d stored a ton of ice from the night before. Seeing all of that, it was vey nerve-wracking … It was freezing. It was a little painful from being so cold, but it was, no pun intended, cool.”

Bayley, like many other participants, donated even after getting wet. He pledged $25 to ALS research.

“It’s a fun thing to go out with friends and pour ice water on each other,” Bayley said. “But at the end of the day, it’s really about going out and getting money to help find a cure, and help families with ALS because raising awareness for it is great, educating each other is great, but they need funds to help support these families and research.”

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