Pete and Andrew Frates ’10 have a common foe. A gifted athlete who played baseball in college and semi-pro thereafter, Pete was diagnosed with ALS (amyotrophic lateral sclerosis) in 2012, at age 27.
Commonly known as Lou Gherig’s disease, the progressive neurological disorder has no cure or effective treatment. “But our family wasn’t about to accept the status quo,” says Andrew, pictured above on right. “Pete told us to strap up our boots and get to work.”
They seized the moment when word of the Ice Bucket Challenge — a 24-hour window to douse yourself with frigid water or donate $100 to the ALS Association — arrived from friends in New York.
“Pete leveraged his network to make it go viral and now it has taken on a life of its own,” Andrew says of the challenge, which swept through social media this summer. “Our goal is for the momentum to generate real action and change the course of the disease.”
Learn more at alsa.org.