A friend of the man who inspired the viral `` Ice Bucket Challenge '' died this weekend in a diving accident . An off-duty lifeguard happened to be nearby and recovered Corey Griffin , 27 , from the bottom of the harbor , police in Nantucket , Massachusetts , said in a statement . He was transported to an area hospital and was pronounced dead early Saturday morning . The Ice Bucket Challenge is a social media campaign that aims to raise awareness and money to fight Lou Gehrig 's disease , also called amyotrophic lateral sclerosis , or ALS . According to CNN affiliate WCVB , Griffin died within hours of raising $ 100,000 for an ALS charity . `` Helping out was nothing new for Griff . He held his own event for me back in 2012 , just a few months after diagnosis . He worked his butt off these last few weeks for ALS . We texted everyday , planning and scheming ways to raise funds and plan events , '' Pete Frates posted on his Facebook account . Frates , a former baseball player at Boston College , has been living with ALS since 2012 . He floated the idea of the challenge and his former teammates , as well as other Boston-area athletes , took him up on it . It was noticed and covered by local media and that attention , along with the social Web 's viral nature , launched it onto a much larger stage . Athletes , celebrities and politicians , as well as everyday folks , have gotten in on the act . The idea is simple : dump a bucket of ice cold water over your head , then challenge a friend , or friends , to either do the same or donate money to the ALS Association . And it 's making a difference . The ALS Association reports that it received $ 13.3 million in donations from July 29 to August 17 , compared to $ 1.7 million during the same time last year . Social Web tackles the # IceBucketChallenge .
Ryan Griffin , 27 , died in a car accident in Nantucket , Massachusetts . He was friends with Pete Frates , the person who created the viral challenge . The Ice Cream Challenge aims to raise awareness and money for ALS .