They’ve flooded your Facebook, Twitter and Instagram feeds. You’ve waited anxiously to hear the sound of your name challenged. And have quite possibly heard the cries from at least one co-worker stating, “IF I SEE ONE MORE ICEBUCKET CHALLENGE I’M GOING TO THROW MY COMPUTER OUT THE WINDOW!” Yes, the viral phenomenon that has swept the globe since August 6 has gained the attention of celebrities, athletes, tech leaders and more in an effort to raise awareness for Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), the lethal neurodegerative disorder also known as Lou Gehrig’s disease.
The idea is simple: dump a bucket of ice water on your head, post a video of it on one (or all) of your social media channels and tag three (or all) of your friends to follow suit within 24 hours, or donate $100 toward ALS research. Easy, right? I mean who wouldn’t want to see hundreds of thousands of people getting doused with ice cold water for an important cause? Sadly, a lot of people.
Over the past few weeks of the challenge’s existence I have noticed several Facebook friends posting critiques of the challenge calling it “narcissism masquerading as awareness.” While others have expressed environmental concerns claiming the Ice Bucket Challenge is a “waste of fresh water”. However, the biggest complaint that has surfaced is about the physical act of the challenge itself. Why go through all of the trouble to fill up a bucket of perfectly good ice water and dump it on your head? Why not just donate the money?
Well, haters, this is why:
The challenge has sparked a conversation. A disease that was once largely ignored by the public has now been mentioned 2.2 million times on Twitter, 15 million times on Facebook and has seen 1.2 million videos posted. The fact that people around the world are talking about the disease that before now was under-funded, under-resourced and largely ignored is monumental. Now when someone mentions that a friend or family member has been diagnosed with ALS you have a better understanding of the physical, mental and emotional distress that is brought upon those fighting the disease, as well as those standing by their side.
The challenge does indeed raise money for ALS. Many have argued that it is unlikely that the campaign is actually increasing funds being given to the charity- people are probably posting videos, but not donating. On the contrary, since the ALS Ice Bucket Challenge debuted just over 2 weeks ago, the ALS Association has raised $22.9 million as a result of the challenge. In the same period last year, the organization saw just $1.9 million. Not to mention the 453,210 new donors supporting the cause.
So yes, the #ALSIceBucketChallenge may be annoying — but it’s working.
As for us in New Orleans, the movement has especially hit our home base as one of our own, Steve Gleason, former safety for the New Orleans Saints, has been fighting the disease for 3 years. Gleason started his own journey to bring awareness to the disease by forming the organization Team Gleason and continuing to be a public inspiration by pursuing life’s adventures despite his physical inabilities. The ALS Ice Bucket Challenge is no exception. Of course Gleason had to take it up a notch with the #NakedIceBucketChallenge while calling Saints QB to step up his game and drop trou for the cause.
Ice Bucket Challenge from Team Gleason on Vimeo.
Being the stand-up individual that Mr. Brees is, he complied to the challenge with this added bonus:
Meanwhile, Louisiana Governor Bobby Jindal also took on the challenge.
And naturally a social media challenge + a good cause= FSC full throttle.
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Now on behalf of the entire FSC team, we would like to nominate our fearless leader and Owner/President McKenzie Coco to take the #ALSIceBucketChallenge. Mack, you have 24 hours! Do you accept our challenge?