Pete Frates

The former Boston College baseball player has lost almost all physical movement and his voice to amyotrophic lateral sclerosis. But his persistence in telling the world about his battle with the neurodegenerative disease sparked the Ice Bucket Challenge the most viral fundraising campaign in history bringing in $115 million for the ALS Association to date. Videos of people dousing themselves with ice water, meanwhile, made the search for a cure a national cause.