Partner Tom Giordano, Jr. and Director of Operations Shawn Lehocky Accept the ALS Ice Bucket Challenge

Oprah, Jimmy Fallon, Justin Timberlake and Pond Lehocky all have something in common—they’ve accepted the Ice Bucket Challenge. Partner Tom Giordano, Jr. and Director of Operations Shawn Lehocky took the icy plunge to raise awareness and money for ALS. The partners generously donated money to the cause along with Tom and Shawn.

ALS, also known as Lou Gehrig's disease, is a progressive neurodegenerative disease that affects nerve cells in the brain and the spinal cord, according to The ALS Association. The degeneration of the nerves leads to loss of muscle control, which could eventually result in complete paralysis.

The Ice Bucket Challenge was created to raise funds and awareness for ALS research. If you’re challenged, you can: a.) accept the challenge, record yourself pouring ice water over your head, post it to social media then challenge someone else to raise awareness, b.) make a donation to an ALS charity—or the best case scenario—c.) do both.

All the icy water seems to be warming up the donation pool. As of yesterday, August 21, 2014, The ALS Association has raised $41.8 million in donations. At the same time last year, the organization only received $2.1 million. The ALS Association has also seen a rise in donors with more than 700,000 new donors to the organization.

Raising money for ALS research is a cause that is especially near and dear to Tom’s heart. As head of the Social Security disability department, some of his clients are affected by ALS, and his uncle passed away from the disease in 1991. Tom and Shawn took on this challenge in honor of Tom’s uncle and our clients that suffer from ALS, and now they challenge you all to fill up those buckets and lighten your wallets to support ALS.