On September 20, dozens of students gathered on East Hill to participate in the annual ALS Ice Bucket Challenge. Alumnus Pat Quinn ’06, co-founder of the ALS Ice Bucket Challenge, was also in attendance. Earlier in the month, before the Iona vs. Navy rugby game, Iona dedicated a section of Mazzella Field as the “Pat Quinn Corner.”
Pat Quinn and Pete Frates co-founded the ALS Ice Bucket Challenge in 2014, in hopes of raising awareness and money for the fairly unknown disease. ALS (amyotrophic lateral sclerosis), also known as Lou Gehrig’s disease, is a progressive neurodegenerative disease affecting neurons of the brain and spinal cord.
Since its founding, the ALS Ice Bucket Challenge has become a viral Internet sensation, and worldwide, the Bucket Challenge has raised more than $220 million toward finding a cure.
Gab Archbold ’19 said, “The Ice Bucket Challenge has raised so much money and awareness that has led to further research. I’m glad that the challenge was not a short-lived fad, and that we continue to participate as a school community every year.”
“It is one of my absolute favorite events on campus because you really get to see the sense of community at Iona as we come together to support a fellow Gael.”
Each year, the Iona community looks forward to coming together to show support for Pat Quinn. Katrina Flood ’19 said, “This is my fourth year participating in the ALS Ice Bucket Challenge at Iona. It is one of my absolute favorite events on campus because you really get to see the sense of community at Iona as we come together to support a fellow Gael.”
Of the section of Mazzella dedicated to Pat Quinn, he said, “I’m very thankful for this honor, and I’ll continue to support Iona rugby from that corner every game I can.”
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