What is the ‘Ice Bucket Challenge’ ?

The “Ice Bucket Challenge” has lit social media on fire, raising both money and awareness for amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, commonly known as Lou Gehrig’s disease. About 30,000 Americans now have the disease, which attacks nerve cells and ultimately leads to total paralysis, though the mind remains sharp. Life expectancy is typically two to five years from the time of diagnosis.

In the last two and a half weeks, a video posted on Facebook by Mr. Frates, a 29-year-old former college baseball player, has inspired people like Bill Gates, LeBron James, Chris Christie andTaylor Swift to dump a bucket of ice on their heads and speak out for his cause.

“Did we ever imagine the level of awareness or the money that is coming in? In our dreams we did,” said Mr. Frates’s mother, Nancy Frates. In a video last December, Mr. Frates said: “The story right now goes: You’ve got ALS, have it for a little while, a long while, but either way, the end is always the same. ALS always wins. So in order to rewrite the end of it, we need to raise awareness, money.”