Company Bigwigs Get Soaked -- All for a Good Cause
A twist on the ice bucket challenge raises money for ALS research.
CELEBRATE
Posted By Anne Linaberger - Sparkt June 20, 2019
Who knew that the people in charge of some of Pittsburgh's biggest and most successful companies were all wet?
35 CEOs, company presidents and other top city leaders definitely did get all wet Thursday at the annual ALS Association of Western Pennsylvania CEO Soak. Watching them ruin their nice suits kinda makes me cringe, but hey, it's for a good cause:
The CEO Soak is organized by the Pittsburgh based ALS chapter to raise money and awareness for an important cause: finding a cure foramyotrophic lateral sclerosis, also known as Lou Gehrig's disease, a progressive neurodegenerative disease that's always fatal.
The event is held in downtown Pittsburgh at the PPG Place fountain, where water pulses up from the surface of the plaza to a height of over 15 feet.
Participants today included our favorite fundraising dynamos, Maeve Shaughnessy and Sydney Birchard (above), founders of the non-profit, ALS Kids. We produced a story on them back in March:
Sydney and Maeve raised $2,500 for the 2019 Soak, bringing their grand total donated since their organization was founded to more than $35,000.
Most companies with CEOs participating had employee fundraising teams, who pledge money to see their boss get soaked. They included the folks from Leybold, pictured below with CEO Carl Brockmeyer (in suit, pre-soak) and the Pirate Parrot.
For the Leybold team, this was personal. The money they raised was in memory of their colleague Rene Fogarty, who lost his fight against ALS last year.
"What a great event to raise awareness for an important cause." Carl Brockmeyer, Leybold
As of this writing, the 2019 CEO Soak had raised over $97,000 -- surpassing their $85,000 goal. It is never too late to get involved and to show your support.
