It’s all over the internet. Bill Gates did it with an elaborate contraption he designed. Friends, neighbors, coworkers are challenging one another and the videos are all over social media. People challenging others to pour a bucket of ice water over their heads to call attention to Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis. ALS is defined on the ALS Association webpage as “Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) is a progressive neurodegenerative disease that affects nerve cells in the brain and the spinal cord.”
One thing is the crazy stunt has not only gone viral, a dreaded disease- ALS has come to the forefront and received 22.9 million dollars in donations, a marked increase from a year ago. Of course there’s controversy and debate, too. Are the participants really understanding what ALS is and how it affects those who have it? and their families? Others think it is a waste of perfectly clean water when so many parts of the world are in drought, or don’t have easy access to clean water. Here is an excellent blog post about what an ALS Family REALLY thinks about this challenge
Yesterday, I was invited to photograph the cheerleading squad accepting the ice bucket challenge the first day of school. I know they are fundraising and sending a donation in addition to pouring the water on their heads.
Here is a crop of that photo.
(I was careful to keep the camera far from the ice water, though) Here’s more information about ALS
I understand the feelings about the use of water. But. . .what a wonderful way to help create awareness for a disease that is devastating. I love the way you caught the water mid-air.
This idea has really taken off. An inventive way to bring money and attention to ALS. People like to have fun and this does that too.
We had this event yesterday at Country Meadows rehabilitation center in Bridgeville. I, as a patient, was able to dump a pan of ice water on the Director of Nursing here. Felt bad, the challenge was made in the morning and the 5 employees who agreed to get soaked but did not have a change of clothing. I got pretty wet just dumping the water, it splashed everywhere. Amazing what good this social media can do when it us used properly!
Thank you for sharing Ruth, I am somewhat insulated lately and I did not know about this. Thank you
It hurt to read “a day in the life” , I cannot imagine.
The first step in any major change is awareness – so whether three-fourths of the people who do the #IceBucketChallenge don’t know any of the painful details about ALS, at least they know it exists – and that’s a big step in the right direction.
(And of course, here’s my IceBucketChallenge post: http://threedailydelights.wordpress.com/2014/08/22/day-660/) 🙂
I donated but skipped the ice. I am using the images around the web to see what students know about ALS and talk about the power of seeing
You skipped the ice? But that’s the best part! 🙂
I hand witnessed so many and photographed our cheerleaders and then subsequently the superintendent of schools and our principal respond to the challenge and have seen a lot on FB. No one challenged me but I sent the hundred and noticed how the total in 25 days has risen to over fifty million. Will check again today. That video of Mr. Frates and the beginning of the challenge is something to watch. Maybe I will show that to students.