The Meme That Has People Dumping Ice Water On Themselves Has Raised Nearly $100 Million To Fight ALS

In case you've been living under a rock for the past few weeks, people have been dumping buckets of ice water on their heads in Facebook videos and nominating their friends to do the same. They're doing it to raise awareness (and money) for ALS, also known as Lou Gehrig's Disease.

Though the meme has had its share of naysayers, the ALS Association announced Wednesday that it's received an incredible $94.3 million since July 29. For perspective, the ASL Association raised just $2.7 million in the same timeframe last year-from July 29 to August 27. The ALS Association's donations have come from existing donors and 2.1 million new ones, the ASL Association said in a press release.

From the press release:

"The ALS Association has been given a great deal of money and with that comes tremendous responsibility," said Barbara Newhouse, President and CEO of The ALS Association. "We are absolutely committed to transparency and will be communicating regularly with the ALS community, our donors, the media and the public about progress to invest these dollars wisely in areas that will have maximum impact on the fight against this devastating disease."

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 advocacy efforts empower people to advance public policies in our nation's Capital that respond to the needs of people with ALS.