Boston City Councilor Matt O'Malley Accepts Ice Bucket Challenge

Boston City Councilor Matt O’Malley joined a widespread effort to dump a bucket of ice water over himself this week to help spread awareness of Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS).

O’Malley, who represents the city’s District 6 neighborhoods of West Roxbury and Jamaica Plain, accepted the challenge given by Boston City Councilor-at-Large Michael Flaherty this week, and to pay it forward, nominated several fellow officials to take part in the challenge, including State Sen. MIke Rush (D-West Roxbury), State Rep. Ed Coppinger (D-Boston) and the entire Project Hope Marathon Team, among other friends and colleagues.

The ice bucket challenge has become somewhat of a viral phenomenon on social media this summer, and the challenge is meant to spread awareness about ALS, also widely known as “Lou Gehrig’s Disease,” a neurodegenerative disease that affects nerve cells in the brain and spinal cord, according to ALSA.org.

The challenge began at the hands of Beverly resident Peter Frates and his family; Frates, a former Boston College baseball player and captain, was diagnosed with ALS in 2012.

“Those who refuse to take the challenge are asked to make a donation to the ALS charity of their choice,” according to ALSA.org. But many who are “nominated” by friends or colleagues have risen to the challenge, including the Boston Police Department, the Boston Fire Department and Boston EMS, among others. Those who take the challenge have been using the hashtag #IceBucketChallenge and #StrikeOutALS in their posts to Facebook, Twitter and YouTube.

“This is a creative way to spread ALS awareness via social media and in communities nationwide,” Barbara Newhouse, President and CEO of the ALS Association, said in a statement. “We thank Pete Frates and his family for getting so many people involved in spreading the word about ALS.”

For more information, visit petefrates.com or the “Team FrateTrain” Facebook page at facebook.com/TeamFratetrain.

Photo Credit: Matt O’Malley via YouTube.