FLY92.3 and St. Peter’s Hospital Foundation are teaming up to host an “Ice Out ALS Challenge” to benefit St. Peter’s ALS Regional Center Lewis Golub MDA/ALS Clinic on Thursday, Aug. 14, at 7:15 p.m. at Bob Ford Field on the University at Albany – SUNY campus.
FLY92.3 morning radio hosts Brian Cody and Chrissy Cavotta are calling all Capital Region residents to join them at the UAlbany campus in an attempt to create one of the largest “ice bucket challenges” in the nation. The “Ice Bucket Challenge” is a public awareness campaign for the degenerative disease ALS, also known as Lou Gehrig’s disease.
The challenge, which has spread over various social media platforms, involves participants dumping ice-filled, freezing water over their heads, posting the videos to social media, and then nominating friends to participate. The idea of dumping ice water started with an ALS patient in Boston who, unable to raise his arms over his head, described the loss of mobility as being painful like cold water on your body that you can’t dry off – thus, the “Ice Bucket Challenge.”
St. Peter’s ALS Regional Center has already received more than $5,000 over the last five days from local challenge participants.
Registration for the event opens at 6:15 p.m. Donations are being accepted at the time of registration, or online at givetostpeters.org. Donations are welcome but not necessary to participate. Cash, checks and credit cards are accepted, with all proceeds going to benefit St. Peter’s ALS Regional Center.
St. Peter’s ALS Regional Center is the region’s only medical and counseling service devoted exclusively to the care of patients with ALS, a rare, fatal, degenerative neuromuscular condition commonly known as Lou Gehrig’s disease. There currently is no cure and little treatment, even after decades of research.
Located at 19 Warehouse Row in Albany, the ALS Regional Center Lewis Golub MDA/ALS Clinic offers medical and emotional support, rehabilitation therapy, consultation, counseling, education, and advocacy to ALS patients and their families. It also provides home visits, as well as guidance and support via telephone, to patients who are too ill or disabled to visit the Center.
The proceeds from this event will help St. Peter’s to sustain and expand the valuable medical and counseling services, as well as research, that support approximately 130 ALS patients a year at little or no cost to these patients and their families.
Serving 17 counties in northeastern New York, St. Peter’s ALS Regional Clinic helps patients and families who would otherwise have to travel inordinate distances to receive adequate clinical attention and care.
The ALS Regional Center also provides ALS management and education to the community and other health care professionals. It also offers support groups along with advocacy for much needed funding and legislation for ALS Research and care.
Approximately 35,000 Americans suffer from ALS at any one time. The disease affects the motor nerve cells in the brain and spinal cord. More than 6,500 new cases are diagnosed in the United States each year.
