Baker, others take a soaking for charity
The water-drenched fundraising campaign that began as a trickle last summer created a waterfall on the State House steps Monday as Gov. Charlie Baker led about 150 people who soaked themselves for charity.
The Ice Bucket Challenge supports ALS research, and last year's viral campaign has been reborn with participation by Major League Baseball teams, and by top Beacon Hill officials on Monday.
Pete Frates, a former Boston College baseball player now living with the disease, was a founder of the challenge and he joined the spectacle Monday at the top of the State House steps.
The dousing, which included about 150 buckets filled with water and ice, created a stream that poured down to the bottom of the stairs where the news media gathered. Baker wore a "Free Brady" shirt to the event and challenged Boston Mayor Martin Walsh and Rhode Island Gov. Gina Raimondo to take the challenge.
The governor was joined by members of his staff and cabinet, Senate President Stanley Rosenberg, Treasurer Deb Goldberg, Auditor Suzanne Bump, and Lt. Gov. Karyn Polito.
The fundraiser's concept is that donors drench themselves with icy water in August and challenge someone else to do the same. Baker, who declined to say how much he gave, said afterwards he had given a heads up to both Walsh and Raimondo before publicly challenging them.
Earlier this year, Baker shaved his head for cancer research, and earlier this month he bicycled 25 miles for the same.
Nancy Frates, the mother of Pete, said the goal is to ultimately raise $1 billion, which she said is the estimated cost of developing a treatment.
According to The ALS Association, last year's challenge raised more than $220 million globally, including $115 million for the association, and it generated 17 million challenge videos posted to Facebook.
Standing on State House steps where 300 people were gathered along with about 150 buckets of ice water, Baker heralded the "second chapter of the most successful public awareness and fundraising campaign in the history of the fight against ALS - The Ice Bucket Challenge."
The steps are the traditional greeting place for the governor welcoming foreign dignitaries and Baker's usage of them for the charity event should raise awareness of the disease that afflicted his former boss, Gov. Paul Cellucci who died in 2013. Its cause unknown, amyotrophic lateral sclerosis causes nerve cells to die, leading to muscle weakness and paralysis. It is also known as Lou Gehrig's Disease, named after the late Yankees first baseman. Next year, Baker plans to run in charity road-race, which benefits ALS research at UMass Medical School.
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