The family of ALS Ice Bucket Challenge co-founder, the late Yonkers native Pat Quinn, will join City of Yonkers and Empire City Casino by MGM Resorts on Saturday, Aug. 2, at 1 p.m. to host the Annual ALS Ice Bucket Challenge.

 

Organizers said members of the public are encouraged to participate in the largest simultaneous Ice Bucket Challenge in support of the hundreds of thousands of people living with ALS (Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis) and the fight to find a cure. They said all ages are welcome to the free event

 

Quinn, diagnosed with ALS in 2013 at age 30 and who lost his life to the disease nearly five years ago, co-founded the global phenomenon 11 years ago in 2014, which generated hundreds of millions of dollars in private donations for ALS research and medical advances to extend the lives of ALS patients.

 

Expected attendees include Yonkers Mayor Mike Spano, Empire City Casino by MGM Resorts (“Empire City”) executives, Quinn’s family, along with local, county and state government elected officials, and the general public. The Ice Bucket Challenge will take place trackside adjacent to Yonkers Raceway at Empire City.

 

ALS, often called “Lou Gehrig’s Disease,” after the New York Yankees baseball legend who was diagnosed with the illness while still a professional baseball player, is a progressive neurodegenerative disease affecting nerve cells in the brain and spinal cord. Gehrig died of complications from ALS in 1941.

According to organizers, in the years since it was founded by Quinn and others, ALS Ice Bucket Challenges have significantly increased the awareness of the deadly disease globally. They said as one example, more than ten years ago, only 80 multidisciplinary clinics for ALS were open around the country.

 

They said, now, more than 240 are open nationally where ALS patients can obtain medical support across several disciplines all in one place. Earlier this year, they said the ALS Association awarded more than $2 million in grants to support the continued preclinical development of five emerging ALS therapies.

 

In addition, they said more ALS patients are sharing their stories on social media platforms, which allows patients to connect from all around the world and spread additional awareness to other communities who may not be as familiar with the condition. 

 

They said since 2014, Empire City Casino has hosted the annual challenge, with the exception of 2020 because of the pandemic. The City of Yonkers donates buckets and the stage for the event and organizes online registration for participants. Empire City underwrites the cost of the event and donates the space, staffing, and over 1,300 pounds of ice.