Supporters of a fundraiser for ALS Society of Newfoundland and Labrador plunge into the cold waters of Conception Bay at Topsail Beach on New Year’s Day. ALS, short for Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis, or Lou Gehrig’s disease, is a motor neuron illness that steals the ability of the brain to communicate with the muscles of the body, eventually causing paralysis. The ALS Society helps Newfoundlanders who are living with the disease, and through ALS Canada, helps fund research in the hope of making this illness treatable. Craig Westcott photo