Students participated in the ALS Ice Bucket Challenge in front of the Columba Quad on Sept. 30 in memory of Iona alum Patrick Quinn ’06. Numerous clubs and organizations turned up to show their support for the former student by dumping ice water over their heads to raise money for ALS. 

Quinn passed away last year, but his father came to the event, surrounded by members of the Iona community. Patrick Quinn Sr. described how positive his son always was despite living with the disease.  

“My son lived by the mantra to fight the good fight, and he would want you to do the same,” Quinn Sr. said. “Two things he always wanted to make a point of was no matter what happens during the day always find a reason to smile because life is amazing.” 

After Quinn Sr.’s speech, students gathered together with buckets filled with ice-cold water in front of them. Then each person dumped a bucket over his or her head. Iona has always been a part of the phenomenon now known as the ALS Ice Bucket Challenge and has done it every year since its conception in 2014. 

This year Iona tried something new with an online fundraiser for the event. People could donate and sponsor a student and the student with the most money would go in a dunk tank. The dunk tank did not end up arriving in time for the event, but Gaels came up with a solution on the spot by drenching the student who won in water with more buckets. 

Katie Feeney, a senior and one of the event planners, announced the winner, senior Jack Ruscetta, and gave out congratulations to everyone involved.  

“This event is in honor of Patrick Quinn, and I think he would be proud of us as we have raised about 700 dollars at this time,” Feeney said. “This year we did an online fundraiser with Venmo. Tons of people donated. In the end, it looks like Jack Ruscetta collected about 400 dollars, which is great.”  

In an effort to honor Quinn, many people from Iona have taken up the challenge by getting involved.  

“To be honest I just like participating in things like this,” senior Timothy Mayora said. “I used to be a commuter, so I never really got to do things like this. So, this year I wanted to get involved more. An ice bucket challenge sounded so cool. I even brought my own bucket just in case, so we could all have some fun.” 

Senior Dylan Morales also expressed his eagerness to get involved in such an important cause. 

 “I really wanted to get more people involved, so I had my friends donate for me to get soaked,” Morales said. “I’m glad we have all come together; it’s really important, especially since we are raising awareness. ALS itself is difficult for a lot of people, now we get the chance to help. So, I’m glad I came out here today to make a difference and support Iona’s community.”