St. Christopher's and Marching Cobras Beat the Drum for ALS

What do Birdman and the Ice Bucket Challenge have in common? Well, aside from being able to make someone sit at the edge of their seat, that would be The Marching Cobras of New York, a youth-led marching band that brought their high-energy performance to St. Christopher’s ALS Ice Bucket Challenge fundraiser yesterday in Dobbs Ferry. And seeing the collection of students, parents, politicians, and Dobbs Ferry Police gathered alongside Pat Quinn, the challenge’s Yonkers-residing co-founder, enthusiasm for raising awareness is clearly on the rise.

“There is nothing better than seeing people come together to not only support me, but to support the ALS community,” says Quinn, who also heads the nonprofit Quinn for the Win. “Every time I watch an Ice Bucket Challenge, there is one thing I always love to see. It’s the smiles. Everyone always smiles.”

This was St. Christopher’s second Ice Bucket Challenge, the last being in 2014, and they couldn’t have chosen a better day. With the sun out and not a single cloud in the sky, the group of St. Christopher’s students and staff did not hesitate when ice, from buckets donated by Readers True Value Hardware, came rushing down from above. In a speech following St. Christopher’s CEO Dr. Robert Maher’s, Quinn expressed his appreciation for the “young people and community members coming together,” inspiring those afflicted by ALS to keep moving forward.

“ALS is very tough and only gets tougher. The local Westchester community, especially my hometown of Yonkers, have really rallied behind me,” Quinn tells Westchester. “If I had the opportunity to thank everyone who supports our fight, I would tell them how important their support is to keeping me going.”

While attendees doused their fellow friends and community members, The Marching Cobras did their thing, building momentum towards an energetic future for Quinn for the Win, St. Christopher’s Inc, and the fight for an ALS cure.  “We have made a tremendous difference in the fight against ALS,” says Quinn. “We have been working for this change and will do so until we find a cure. Your support is everything.”