Nancy Frates takes the TED stage to share the origins of the ALS Ice Bucket Challenge

The ALS Ice Bucket Challenge recently took over social media and became a booming, chilling demonstration of the support for Lou Gehrig’s disease research. In this TED talk, Nancy Frates tells the story of how the family created the phenomenon after her son, 27-year-old Pete, was diagnosed with the disease. Pete’s diagnosis came about by […]

By Nicole Oran on November 19, 2014 4:36 pm

The ALS Ice Bucket Challenge recently took over social media and became a booming, chilling demonstration of the support for Lou Gehrig’s disease research.

In this TED talk, Nancy Frates tells the story of how the family created the phenomenon after her son, 27-year-old Pete, was diagnosed with the disease. Pete’s diagnosis came about by accident after a baseball injury in his wrist was examined for what was thought to likely be just a broken bone.

Frates shares about her family’s experience and the amazement that came with how big the movement became, including celebrity challenge participants like Justin Timberlake and Bill Gates. To date, she says, the ALS association has raised $125 million.