You may have seen it on the news. You may have read about it online. If you have a Facebook account, chances are you have stumbled across a few of those videos in your newsfeed – a person dumping iced water on their heads, also known as the #IceBucketChallenge. The premise of the challenge is that someone who has done it has to nominate you. You are given 24 hours to either accept the challenge to pour iced water over your head or to donate $100 to ALS.
I first heard of the #IceBucketChallenge a week ago while vacationing in California. My former Penn State assistant coach Mike Schall posted a video on Facebook showing him and his children taking on the challenge. At the time I didn’t think much of it other than a fun video. In less than a week, the #IceBucketChallenge became a national sensation. Anyone from celebrities to big athletes to high-ranked politicians were pouring iced water on their heads and passing the baton to others. Celebs Embrace Ice Bucket Challenge
But not everyone appears to be thrilled with the viral challenge. To some, the idea of wasting valuable water is complete non-sense (considering California is suffering from a bad drought). To others, taking the challenge without donating money is counterproductive. And there are those who question the longevity of the impact. While I can see where those concerns come from, one cannot deny the immense advantages of the challenge. As the number of people accepting the Ice Bucket Challenge skyrocketed, the donations to ALS followed suit. Since July 29, the ALS has raised $15.6 Million, up from $1.8 million raised during the same time period last year.
Judging by the numbers alone, it’s obvious that whomever initiated the Ice Bucket Challenge was a marketing genius! Such phenomenal fundraiser would have never been possible without the help of social media. It’s because of Facebook, Twitter and Instagram such an idea is capable of reaching ad impacting our private worlds.
If you happen to be nominated by someone, I encourage you to both take the challenge AND donate to ALS. By doing so, the small amount of water you may waste is just a “drop” in the bucket compared to the good you are doing for people suffering with ALS.
On that note, below I have posted the video of Denzin and I doing the Ice Bucket Challenge. We also donated to ALS. Enjoy!
What is ALS?
Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), often referred to as “Lou Gehrig’s Disease,” is a progressive neurodegenerative disease that affects nerve cells in the brain and the spinal cord. Motor neurons reach from the brain to the spinal cord and from the spinal cord to the muscles throughout the body. The progressive degeneration of the motor neurons in ALS eventually leads to their death. When the motor neurons die, the ability of the brain to initiate and control muscle movement is lost. With voluntary muscle action progressively affected, patients in the later stages of the disease may become totally paralyzed.
To learn more about ALS, visit http://www.alsa.org/.
To donate to ALS, click HERE
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I have a real problem with it.
Any disease awareness campaign that isn’t focused on “the cause,” is
only a prescription drug sales ploy.
I actually have two problems with this…
Dave is right. ALS is caused mainly by the pharmaceutical industry. Mostly due to mercury and aluminum in the system: http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/m/pubmed/6538286/ and http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2627516/ and these two show many factors, including heavy metals: http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3759860/ and http://www.whale.to/vaccine/als_h.html And how do we get heavy metals and aluminum in our systems? Mainly through vaccinations which use aluminum as an adjuvant, and hidden mercury, especially in flu shots and many others. So then we are basically raising money for … research… which would be done by members of the pharmaceutical industry. Check and mate… 😦
Secondly, on the ALSA website, you will see that only 7-8 percent of all donations actually get used for research. And more than double that amount goes to marketing for research money. The rest go in corporate pockets.
It is a wonderful thing what well-meaning people are trying to do. I really do applaud those who are doing these things out of the goodness of their heart. The same goes for those who do walks and races for cures… but you see there already are cures. Many of them. Reverse candida overgrowth. Never ingest fluoride in any form including even deodorants. Take iodine/iodide supplements or foods. Don’t get vaccines. All these things prevent cancer, and some also cure it including oral/food grade hydrogen peroxide and baking soda. But the companies won’t make a penny off of those. They make an average of $300,000 off of every single person who is diagnosed with cancer with their chemo, radiation, surgeries, and other treatments. So they are in no hurry to cure anything. Especially when it points to them being the reasons for them all.
A better way to donate to this cause is to pay about $50 to a person with ALS to have a heavy metal screening. Then when they see that their numbers are off the charts, they can take the steps to rid their bodies of them, thereby curing their disease. That would really help them much better than anything else.
Again, my hat is off to you and your son. You are wonderful people. But raise awareness in your own mind about what is going on behind the scenes.