Sandburg Assistant Principal 'Mans Up' for ALS Ice Bucket Challenge

Caption: How high will the drop be for Sandburg Middle School assistant principal, Jeff Gail.

Sandburg Middle School Assistant Principal Jeff Gail is preparing for a bucket of ice to come raining down on his head this Thursday.

The good-natured assistant principal was challenged by physical education teacher Mike Murphy to take the ALS ice bucket challenge, which has become all the rage of social media. As of Monday, donations to the ALS Association have reached an astounding $79.7 million.

Mr. Gail is taking a novel approach by having Sandburg Middle School students raise money for the ALS research. Students can drop donations into a plastic jar in the school office. The more money raised, the higher the drop will be:

• If one jar is filled the water will be dropped on Mr. Gail from the ground floor.
• If two jars are filled the water will be dropped on Mr. Gail from a first floor window.
• If three jars are filled the water will be dropped on Mr. Gail from a second floor window.
• If four jars are filled the water will be dropped on Mr. Gail from the roof.

The deadline for collecting donations is Thursday, Aug. 28, with the appointed hour for the ice bucket dunking at 1 p.m. A video of the event will be shown on Spartan TV and posted on the school website.

It also rumored that that Sandburg will be challenging its sister middle schools - Bryan and Churchville.

Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), often referred to as “Lou Gehrig’s Disease,” a progressive neurodegenerative disease that affects nerve cells in the brain and the spinal cord eventually leading to death. Every day, an average of 15 people are newly diagnosed with ALS — more than 5,600 people per year, according to the ALS Association.

For more information, visit the ALS Association Greater Chicago Chapter.