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
