ST. CLOUD - If you have a Facebook page, you can't help but see a whole bunch of videos of your friends getting dumped on with a bucket of ice water.  It's called the "ALS Ice Bucket Challenge", and it's all for a good cause.

Jennifer Hjelle is the Executive Director of ALS for Minnesota, North Dakota, and South Dakota. She says, as of this (Monday) morning, $80 million has been raised for the organization nationwide...

She says the annual "Walk To Defeat ALS" has been going on for 13 years now, but this year's event is getting an extra boost from the challenge...

Also, Hjelle says the number of people who have signed up to walk has almost doubled this year, compared to last year. The St. Cloud Walk to Defeat ALS is Saturday, September 13th at Eastman Park/Lake George, with check-in starting at 8:30 a.m. Prior to the Ice Bucket Challenge, they were hoping to have 700 people participate in the St. Cloud walk, and had a goal of raising $67,000.

Hjelle says the challenge was started by a 29-year-old Boston man who is living with ALS - also known as Lou Gerhig's Disease.

There are about 400 people living with ALS in Minnesota. Every week two Minnesotans are diagnosed with ALS, and two die from the disease.  The life expectancy of a person living with ALS is usually two-to-five years from diagnosis. There is no known cause or cure.

If you've taken the ice bucket challenge, but haven't donated yet, you can do that by going to the ALS Association website.

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