ALS Ice Bucket Challenge: Franks Pizza Employees Douse Themselves in Frigid Water for a Cause

From former Phoenix Coyote Paul Bissonnette’s epic helicopter soaking to President Barack Obama’s modest decline that still came with a donation, people across the world are working to spread awareness about ALS with the ice bucket challenge. The concept is easy enough: Take a container of ice water, dump it over yourself and nominate someone else to try it next.

Employees at Franks Pizza in Hopatcong buddied up to take the challenge together and captured it on video. The video features four intrepid employees and plays out similarly to most people’s attempts at the challenge -- a shocked cry as the frigid water drops down on them -- and concludes with the employees making a pledge to the ALS Association.

The challenge started when 29-year-old and former captain of the Boston College baseball, Pete Frates, who is also diagnosed with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, began posting about it on social media. The trend quickly caught on, and soon everyone from athletes to politicians to musicians were taking part.

ALS, known also as Lou Gehrig’s disease, attacks the nerve cells that control voluntarily muscle movement while leaving mental capacity untouched. There is no treatment or cure for the disease, which can take as little as two to five years to take a life.

The ALS Association has raised $2.3 million since the challenge gained popularity July 29, compared to $25,000 in donations during the same time period last year.

Franks Pizza donated $100 to the cause and nominated its customers to participate in the challenge or donate the same amount to the Association.

You can view the video by following this link.