Apple’s Senior VP of Marketing, Phil Schiller, has joined the ranks of tech executives who have taken the “Ice Bucket Challenge” to join in the viral campaign to raise funds and awareness of the fight against Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS), also known as Lou Gehrig’s Disease.
The stunt is part of a viral campaign to raise money and awareness for the disease, which is responsible for nearly two deaths per hundred thousand population annually. Those who take the plunge get to challenge three other people to do the same within the next 24 hours. If they don’t, they are asked to donate to the ALS foundation.
Immediately following the self-inflicted dousing, Schiller took to Twitter to challenge Apple CEO Tim Cook, actor Chris O’Donnell, and a personal friend named Kim to take the plunge, or make a donation to the ALS Foundation.
Donations to the organization have reached over $1.35 million since the challenge started catching on in late July, a spokesperson said. During the same time last year that amount was only $22,000.
Schiller is not the first tech executive to take part in the campaign. Facebook’s Mark Zuckerberg and Microsoft’s Satya Nadella have also participated.
Zuckerberg, who was called out by New Jersey Governor Chris Christie, had challenged Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates, Facebook COO Sheryl Sandberg, and Netflix CEO Reed Hastings to participate.
Nadella challenged Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos and Google’s Larry Page to follow his lead.
For more information about the fight against ALS, and the Ice Bucket Challenge, visit the ALS Association website.
