The woman behind the Ice Bucket Challenge
The family who made ‘What is the Ice Bucket Challenge’ Google’s most-searched entry in 2014 comes to BC
Last night night marked the first major event for UGBC’s Council for Students with Disabilities, with the arrival Nancy Frates, BC alumna (’80) and mother of Pete Frates (BC ’07).
If the name doesn’t ring a bell right away, her cause will – she started the ALS Ice Bucket Challenge.
Pete played baseball at BC, and he was diagnosed with ALS in 2012, at age 27. His BC family was shocked. Within a year, his once stellar inter-city baseball stats dropped, and within two he lost motor function in his arms, legs, and the ability to swallow on his own.
This didn’t stop him though. Even on the day he was diagnosed, Nancy said that Pete’s reaction was not to sulk away in sadness, he to go right to work.
Pete told his family: “Alright people, there will be no wallowing, no whining. We will not look backward, we will look forward. What an opportunity we’ve been given to change the world. The situation with ALS is completely unacceptable. I’m gonna get this disease in front of philanthropists such as Bill Gates and we’re gonna move the needle on this disease.”
Through expansive social media efforts, the family began a campaign to raise funds and awareness for ALS research.
Nancy Frates appears onstage with Pete
Your Instagram and Facebook feeds were blowing up with Ice Bucket Challenge videos this summer. Nancy explained the manic speed at which the challenge grew. Every week of last August, there was a new realm the campaign broke into.
The first week saw celebrities like Justin Timberlake. Then, news outlets like ABC and CBS flooded into their homes, taking time to interview with Pete and his wife. The next week saw entertainment shows like ET and Insider Edition pour in. In the fourth week, it went global. News outlets like BBC began to show interest in the endeavour, and the Frates knew they had created something big.
Nancy showed Google stats from the first year of the challenge. How many times a year (or even this week) have you turned to Google and asked “What is….” Well, in 2014, ALS was the most “what is” searched phrase. And to add to it, the Ice Bucket Challenge did not even begin until the eighth month of the year, so that’s quite an accomplishment.
Frates went on to explain the donations that went into campaign. An impressive 55 percent of the American donations towards the cause came from the 18-30 year-old demographic.
When asked if the Ice Bucket Challenge would continue as their primary awareness campaign, Nancy Frates said: “We still continue with our galas and other fundraising events. The Ice Bucket Challenge will continue as a means of awareness. Every August until a cure.”
To close her speech, Frates surprised the crowd with bringing out her son, the one who inspired the cause, Pete.
Nancy and Pete looked elated as they posed for photos with the baseball team and Disability Council – reuniting with some of their BC family on their old college stomping ground.
Learn more about Pete’s story. For more information on UGBC’s Council for Students with Disabilities, reach out to the council’s chair, Phoebe Fico at [email protected].