International
Ice Bucket Challenge activist dies aged 37
23 Nov, 2020
Patrick Quinn, one of the men who helped drive the wildly popular Ice Bucket Challenge fundraising campaign, has died aged 37.
Quinn, a New Yorker, was diagnosed with the incurable neurological disease amyotrophic lateral sclerosis in 2013.
He died on Sunday morning, his supporters wrote on his official Facebook page. “He was a blessing to us all in so many ways,”?they said.
The viral campaign has raised $220m (?163m) for ALS research.
The Ice Bucket Challenge did not begin with Quinn, but he and his family and friends helped it become a global social media phenomenon in the summer of 2014.
To complete the challenge, people would dump a bucket of ice water over their heads and post the video to social media, challenging others to do the same or make a donation to ALS research. Often, people did both.
The challenge drew high-profile participants like former President George W Bush, Oprah Winfrey, Lady Gaga and President Donald Trump.
Last year,?Pete Frates – the former college baseball star who was another key figure in the campaign – died aged 34. (Courtesy BBC)
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