Graham Weston, Chairman, Cofounder and CEO of Rackspace, led a team of “Rackers,” the name Rackspace employees call themselves, to take the ALS Ice Bucket Challenge at Rackspace’s headquarters in San Antonio.
Weston also pledged to donate to Als.org for every employee participating in the challenge.
“You’ve probably heard of the Ice Bucket Challenge, which has gone viral on social media in recent weeks. But in case you’re just returning from vacation in Antarctica, here’s the deal: Those challenged are given 24 hours to either take a video of themselves dumping a bucket of ice water over their heads, or else donate a particular sum, usually $100, to the ALS Association,” Weston wrote in a memo to Rackspace employees. “The association promotes research on Amyotrophic Lateral Schlerosis, a degenerative nerve condition also known as Lou Gerhig’s Disease. There is no cure for ALS, which typically leads to paralysis and death. It strikes some 5,600 people each year in the U.S. alone.”
Following the massive drenching, Weston challenged Rackspace offices around the world to take the Ice Bucket Challenge.
So far, the ALS Association, at alsa.org, has received $31.5 million in donations, compared to $1.9 million, during the same time period last year, according to the association. The Ice Bucket Challenge has attracted more than 637,000 new donors.
Weston joins other tech titans like Michael Dell, Bill Gates, Elon Musk and Mark Zuckerberg in taking the challenge.
The Rackspace London office accepted the challenge and did an ice bucket wave.
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