“ICE BUCKET CHALLENGE”
STATE HOUSE — Rep. Leonela Felix introduced a resolution Tuesday recognizing Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS) Awareness Day and challenging her fellow representatives to raise money for those suffering from ALS by joining her to participate in a “Soak Challenge.”
The resolution (2025-H 6366), which was read and passed by the House, recognizes May 27, 2025, as ALS Awareness Day in Rhode Island and “encourages all Rhode Islanders to learn more about ALS, support those impacted, and join the effort to find a cure.”
The resolution continues to “challenge to all Rhode Islanders to join in the Soak Challenge event on June 1, 2025, or to record their own Soak Challenge and donate in support of ALS United RI.”
“This month is ALS awareness month and I am honored to pair with ALS United Rhode Island for a day of action here at the State House,” said Representative Felix. “ALS is a devastating illness that has touched the lives of so many people. In order to raise awareness and funds for ALS United Rhode Island, which provides services to patients and their families, I will be participating in the ‘Soak challenge’ this year. I encourage my colleagues to join me in raising money for a good cause and cooling off while we do it.”
The “Soak Challenge,” similar to the “Ice Bucket Challenge” from several years ago, is a fundraising campaign where business, community and government leaders record themselves getting soaked with a fountain, pool, dunk tank or bucket of ice water while challenging their peers to also participate and donate to support ALS research and care. The House resolution extends this challenge to all Rhode Islanders who are able to participate.
Representative Felix (D-Dist. 61, Pawtucket) specifically invited five of her House colleagues to join her in the challenge: Speaker K. Joseph Shekarchi (D-Dist. 23, Warwick), Minority Leader Michael W. Chippendale (R-Dist. 40, Foster, Glocester, Coventry), Rep. Karen Alzate (D-Dist. 60, Pawtucket), Rep. John J. Lombardi (D-Dist. 8, Providence) and Rep. Paul Santucci (R-Dist. 53, Smithfield, Glocester).
Rhode Islanders can donate at a fundraising link for ALS United Rhode Island that Representative Felix has set up.
ALS, also known as Lou Gehrig’s Disease, is a progressive neurodegenerative disease that affects nerve cells in the brain and spinal cord, leading to muscle weakness, paralysis and ultimately respiratory failure. There is currently no known cure.
According to the resolution, “each year, more than 5,000 people in the United States are diagnosed with ALS,” and “in the City of Pawtucket alone, five individuals are currently living with ALS, and five more families have lost a loved one to ALS in the past year.”