Reigniting a good cause - with ice

Bucket jpg

Bucket jpg

It’s as simple as tipping and shivering

By Ray O’Hanlon
rohanlon@irishecho.com

You can’t argue with the timing.

A bucket of ice is just the ticket with the temperatures reaching for the 90s.

With this in mind, and a lot more of course, Empire City Casino CEO, Timothy J. Rooney, and Ice Bucket Challenge originator, Pat Quinn, will be teaming up this Sunday, August 2, to reignite the social media phenomenon.

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And the public is invited to gather trackside at Empire City Casino’s Yonkers Raceway for the renewed Ice Bucket Challenge to benefit ALS research. Pre-registration can be carried out at www.YonkersNY.gov.

‎ In August 2014, ‎Pat Quinn of Yonkers, and Pete Frates of Boston, both ALS patients, co-founded the ALS Ice Bucket Challenge.

The effort became a global phenomenon with more than 17 million videos of people taking the challenge being posted on Facebook last year.

Sunday will see the re-launch of the challenge and Quinn is being joined in the bucket tipping by Yonkers Mayor Mike Spano, and City Council President Liam McLaughlin.

Quinn will lead all the participants in a simultaneous ice bucket challenge at 2 p.m.

The idea is to reignite - if that’s possible with ice – the viral social media movement through the month of August.

The first 1,000 participants on Sunday will receive a free 2015 ALS Ice Bucket Challenge t-shirt courtesy of Empire City Casino.

To participate, a person dumps a bucket of ice and water over his or her head, challenges three friends to either do the same, donate to the ALS charity of their choice, or both.

To date, the ALS Ice Bucket Challenge has generated more than $220 million in donations for ALS-oriented nonprofits.

Many of those donations have been allocated to support new ALS research, increased advocacy, and expanded and improved local care and services for people diagnosed with ALS, their families and care providers.

“Pat Quinn’s fight and determination to combat this horrible disease has been nothing short of inspirational,” said Mayor Spano.

“With Pat as our fearless leader, the City of Yonkers hopes to recharge the energy we all felt last summer as part of the Ice Bucket Challenge. We encourage any and all to join us on August 2nd so we can continue to make strides in finding a cure to ALS.”

“We are excited and proud to be involved in such an important effort,” said Tim Rooney, president and CEO of Empire City Casino at Yonkers Raceway. “Having lost my uncle, Fr. Silas Rooney, to this disease my family is all too familiar with its devastating effects. Efforts to raise awareness and research funds are vital and must continue.”


“Yonkers is proud to host to the re-launch of the ALS ice bucket challenge,” City Council President McLaughlin said.

“Pat Quinn, the Quinn family and our friends at Empire City and Home Depot have done so much to make this event a success which will set the bar for raising awareness about ALS nationwide. Pat has courageously and selflessly turned his battle with ALS into one of the largest movements this world has ever seen. We are proud to join him in that effort.”

Pat Quinn said: "I am beyond grateful for the continued support from Mayor Mike Spano, City Council President Liam McLaughlin, and the entire City of Yonkers.

“Last summer, the ALS Ice Bucket Challenge brought new hope and a unified sense of fight to ALS patients all over the world. I'm extremely proud to know ‘Quinn for the Win’ and Yonkers were a major catalyst in making this happen.

“We are now living by the mantra, ‘Every August Until A Cure.’ Although last summer did wonders for our battle, we still have no treatment. We still have no cure.”

Quinn urged anyone who could make it on Sunday to turn up at the raceway and take part.
“Not only will it be fun, you will be a part of something special," he said.

Anyone interested in registering to participate in Sunday’s Ice Bucket Challenge at Empire City Casino is being urged to do so at www.yonkersny.gov. Participants will be provided a bucket donated by Home Depot, ice and water. The afternoon also will feature music and family-friendly entertainment.
Donations are not required to participate. But proceeds from the event will be donated to “Quinn for the Win,” a not-for-profit ALS organization.

Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), often referred to as "Lou Gehrig's Disease," is a progressive neurodegenerative disease that affects nerve cells in the brain and the spinal cord.

The progressive degeneration of the motor neurons in ALS eventually leads to their death. When the motor neurons die, the ability of the brain to initiate and control muscle movement is lost.
With voluntary muscle action progressively affected, patients begin to suffer from muscle weakness and muscle atrophy. They can lose the ability to easily handle simple tasks like shaving or buttoning a shirt. In the later stages of the disease, patients may become completely paralyzed. ALS is still a disease with no known cure.

Pat Quinn, who is 32, was diagnosed with ALS in March 2013. For more information, visit www.yonkersny.gov, www.quinn4thewin.com and www.facebook.com/Quinnforthewin.

 

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