Watch CBS News

Man Putting Unique Twist On ALS Ice Bucket Challenge In All 50 States

BOSTON (CBS) - It's the ice bucket challenge with a messy twist.

A campaign came to Boston Wednesday. A Pennsylvania man is going to all 50 states this month to take the challenge and raise money to fight ALS. But instead of an ice water bath, hes going to use something that's connected to each state and it's not always comfortable.

"In Delaware I did watermelon, in New Jersey it was blueberries, in Connecticut it was nutmeg. We have everything from maple syrup to salmon with salmon roe to chili in Texas orange juice in Florida, it's going to be an interesting month to say the least," said Larry Kaplan, the man behind it all.

Kaplan is on a mission. The 20 year ALS association volunteer decided to take the ice bucket challenge and step it up. He calls it "50 in 30."

Kaplan said, "I'll be driving through all 48 states and flying to Alaska and Hawaii all in the span of 30 days."

Wednesday's stop was Durgin Park where he was doused with Boston baked beans.

Larry Kaplan
Larry Kaplan gets baked beans dumped on him in Boston (WBZ-TV)

"I took off one month from my business and one month from my wife and children to do this. I'm going to inconvenience myself for a month and then I get to go back to my normal life. If you have ALS, you wake up one day and you don't get to go back to your normal life. That change is permanent," said Kaplan.

His goal is $100,000 for ALS research.

As for the beans, Kaplan said, "they're not bad, I'm not going to lie. I feel like I'll be pulling them out of my ears later today."

Larry's next stop is Portsmouth, NH, where he'll get a bucket of New England clam chowder dumped on his head.

To follow Larry's journey or donate to the fight against ALS, visit his page at http://www.50in30.org/.

View CBS News In
CBS News App Open
Chrome Safari Continue
Be the first to know
Get browser notifications for breaking news, live events, and exclusive reporting.