The ALS Association credited New Yorker Patrick Quinn on Sunday with helping popularise 'the greatest social media campaign in history.' Patrick Quinn, whose personal battle with Lou Gehrig’s disease helped power the Ice Bucket Challenge fundraising campaign, has died aged 37, seven years after his diagnosis, according to the ALS Association and his supporters on Facebook, The Guardian and Reuters report. Quinn, who was born and grew up in Yonkers, New York, was co-founder of the campaign that raised more than US$220m for medical research into amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), more commonly known as Lou Gehrig’s disease. Roughly 12,000 to 15,000 Americans may have ALS, according to the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Among Quinn’s many honours for raising awareness of ALS and promoting research was a nomination with fellow ALS activist Peter Frates as Time magazine person of the year.

Source: The Standard November 23, 2020 05:26 UTC