Brickell's Batch Gastropub has taken the ALS Ice Bucket challenge to a whole new level.
Not only did Batch partner Kevin Danilo accept the challenge, which dares people to pour a bucket of ice water over their heads or donate $100 to ALS support and research, but he went a step further by recruiting his entire team to take the challenge. Not only has Danilo pledged to donate $20 for each Batch employee that joins the team challenge, he's taking it one step further by challenging other Miami area restaurants to join in the hope of causing a chain reaction of charitable giving in South Florida.
See also: Batch Gastropub Opens: We Get a First Bite
According to the ALS Association, amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), also known as Lou Gehrig's Disease, is a "progressive neurodegenerative disease that affects nerve cells in the brain and the spinal cord. The progressive degeneration of the motor neurons in ALS eventually leads to their death. When the motor neurons die, the ability of the brain to initiate and control muscle movement is lost. With voluntary muscle action progressively affected, patients in the later stages of the disease may become totally paralyzed." There is no known cure.
Danilo told Short Order that the ALS Challenge to raise funds and awareness for Lou Gehrig's disease is especially dear to his heart.
"My favorite athlete of all time is Lou Gehrig, so I've been familiar with ALS for a while,over the years I've been a part of a few different fundraisers so when this whole ice bucket challenge came around I thought it would be great to participate. We are close with a lot of different restaurants in the area so we figured it'd be a fun way to help raise some money."
During the challenge, it's customary to "call out" other people to keep the chain going. Danilo has called out Eating House, Brother Jimmy's BBQ, and Edge Steak & Bar. The Batch partner says these choices were strategic. "I used to work with Alex Casanova from Eating House and a bunch of our collective staffs worked together at one point. I have crazy respect for what those guys do over there. I think they have the best food in town and Giorgio [Rapicavoli] is an animal. Brother Jimmy's and Edge have two of the best staffs in Brickell.Tthey always stop by and they're just great people, so we figured they'd definitely jump on board with the concept. We're hoping they'll challenge a few other restaurants and it'll be some good fun while raising some money for a good cause."
The only thing left for Danilo and the Batch team to do is go and dump buckets of ice water on their heads. Did they do it? Watch now!
Now it's your turn, Edge Steak & Bar, Brother Jimmy's BBQ, and Eating House. It's time to put your money where your bucket is, so to speak and take the ALS ice bucket challenge. You've been called out!
If you, like some people, are tired of seeing people dump buckets of freezing water on their heads, know that this insanely silly craze is actually doing a world of good. According to the ALS Association, in the past month, the ice bucket challenge has raised over $22.9 million dollars toward ALS support and research, compared to $1.9 million dollars raised over the same one month period last year.
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