The ALS Association has said they’ve ‘hit the lottery’ with payments still pouring in from the hugely popular (and viral) ice bucket challenge.
“ALS is a brain disorder where the motor neurons that connect the brain to the spinal cord die,” Fred Fisher, President of the ALS Association, said. “In typically two-five years, people with ALS lose the ability to move, to speak to swallow and eventually to breath.”
ALS is also known as Lou Gherig’s Disease, name after the baseball Hall of Famer who was forced to retire after receiving the diagnosis.
Related: Man diagnosed with ALS educates public on disease and success of Ice Bucket Challenge
“Our focus is on our research, what goes on in labs to clinical trials, to taking care of patients,” Fisher said. “To date, only one drug has proven to work against ALS, and it extends a person’s life by two to three months — not terribly effective, so the urgency to cure this disease is high.”
Thanks to the huge success of the ice bucket challenge, find the cure may be a donation and douse away.
“This is our first opportunity to suffer from being overexposed, and we’re happy for it,” Fisher said. “The one thing ALS has needed is exposure.”
If you want to give, visit ALS.org, and if you want to see exactly where your dollars are going, visit the Charity Navigator.
