Six months after the ALS Ice Bucket Challenge took the nation by storm, local ALS sufferers are benefiting from the money raised.
“Ice Bucket Challenge donations have enabled us to reinforce and re-energize our efforts to find treatments for this disease,” said Barbara J. Newhouse, President and CEO of The ALS Association.
According to a spokesperson for The ALS Association Greater Philadelphia Chapter, it has gained more than 5,200 new donors because of the challenge and spent more than $160,000 locally in new funding on direct ALS patient care needs.
The funding allowed the local chapter to purchase a new van to transport ALS patients as well as increase the hours of in-home care 20% to 12 hours a week, maximum, for local patients.
The Greater Philadelphia Chapter reported it increased spending for accessible ramping of homes by $25,000 and on medical equipment such as wheelchairs by $30,000.
Another $60,000 was spent on new Assistive Technology devices such as head mounted laser pointers, iPads and other communication devices for ALS patients.
The Greater Philadelphia Chapter serves over 850 people with Lou Gehrig's Disease in eastern Pennsylvania, central and southern New Jersey and Delaware.
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Last summer, an estimated 15 million people in the U.S. participated in the Ice Bucket Challenge and donated $115 million to The ALS Association, according to The ALS Association.
