Ice-bucket Challenge: Chicago Police 14th District and Chicago Fire Engine 43 meet the challenges for charity
The 14th takes it head on: Officer Jon Utz, Officer Aaron Levine, Capt. Buslik, Commander Frank Valadez and Valadez's son
In a 24-hour ice-bucket challenge, on behalf of the ALS Association, from the New York Police Department's 109th Precinct in Flushing, NY, Chicago Police Department's (CPD) 14th District (Shakespeare Station), 2150 N. California, met the challenge and in turn challenged their neighbors at Chicago Fire Department (CFD) Station 43, 2179 N Stave St., Engine #43.
In a taunting video, Capt. Marc Buslik, said, "They thought we weren't going to do it. They were WRONG!" He then went on to challenge Engine #43, the Niles Police Department and CPD's 4th District.
With buckets filled with ice cubes and water this is what happened...
Taking the lead for Engine #43, Fire Fighter EMT Gregory Baptista accepted the 14th's challenge on the spot.
Baptista, Fire Fighter Bosco, Engineer William Brown, Fire Fighter Nate Rhodes and Lieutenant Mike Cronin met the challenge with buckets filled with cold water, no ice. They have now challenged Engine #35, #44 and #57.
Their response looked like this...
With both Logan Square unit representatives completely soaked, they took time to enjoy some neighborly joking.
Bosco, Rhodes, Valadez, Brown, Cronin and Buslik
What started as a low-key initiative on the professional golf circuit has gone like wild fire on social media with people dowsing them selves in ice water from coast to coast.
As of today, Aug. 15, The ALS Association has received $9.5 million in donations compared to $1.6 million during the same time period last year (July 29 to August 15). These donations have come from existing donors and 184,812 new donors to The Association.
ALS, also known as Lou Gehrig’s Disease, is a progressive neurodegenerative disease that affects nerve cells in the brain and the spinal cord. Eventually, people with ALS lose the ability to initiate and control muscle movement, which often leads to total paralysis and death within two to five years of diagnosis. There is no cure and only one drug approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) that modestly extends survival. Veterans are twice as likely be diagnosed with the disease.
“We’re heartened that the momentum of this incredible visibility continues,” said Barbara Newhouse, President and CEO of The ALS Association. “We are so thankful for the generous outpouring of donations and people’s interest in learning more about ALS.”
The ALS Association’s mission includes providing care services to assist people with ALS and their families through a network of chapters working in communities across the nation, and a global research program focused on the discovery of treatments and eventually a cure for the disease. In addition, The Association’s public policy efforts empower people to advance public policies in our nation’s Capital that respond to the needs of people with ALS.