Caroline Muniz ‘23

Features Editor

On Saturday, the ALS Advocates of Holy Cross hosted an ALS Ice Bucket Challenge on the Hoval! It was a remarkable day for the College of the Holy Cross!

The event was a great success with 26 students who had buckets of ice dumped on their heads! 

Students were able to get buckets of ice water dumped on them to help raise awareness for ALS and donate towards a great cause. The club was founded last year by sophomores Cecilia Motherway ‘25 and Maya Guillotte ‘25. They have both lost parents to this disease. They were able to meet on campus and connect through their shared stories. Since then, they have become best friends and they have started the club ALS Advocates of Holy Cross in memory of their parents. 

“Our goal is to create advocacy and awareness for students on campus,” said Guillotte. Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis is an incurable neurodegenerative disease that breaks down nerve cells that affect motor functions. Motherway and Guillotte emphasized the importance of understanding exactly what the disease is. Since there is no cure for it, their cause to raise awareness is vital to the individuals and families battling this disease.  

After the event fell through last year, this fundraising, philanthropic club was finally able to host the event this year with the help of the ALS Association: Massachusetts Chapter. 

It was a beautiful day on the Hoval. After a brief opening ceremony, ice buckets were dumped on people every ten minutes. During this event, there were many different signs that contained important information about the disease, such as the symptoms and the ways it functions inside the body. There was also a drawing for various items such as a JD Martinez signed baseball, Woo Sox tickets, and tickets to the Holy Cross football game at Polar Park. The club also gave a special acknowledgement to Diane Anas, a former culinary assistant for Holy Cross dining who is currently battling ALS. 

The club has been able to extend awareness beyond Holy Cross through other events that they have participated in. Last weekend, the club attended the Worcester Walk to Defeat ALS at Polar Park. The members of the club volunteered and contributed toward raising money to provide local families living with ALS, different, no-cost services. 

The club plans to continue to spread awareness by working with the ALS Association to possibly create a patient outreach program where they would be able to talk to people with ALS as well as their families to support them. The club will continue to make a great impact on the Holy Cross community and beyond.

For information on ways to donate or if you would like to be notified of any future events, contact Cecila at cgmoth25@g.holycross.edu or Maya at mlguil25@holycross.edu.