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I'm assuming most of you reading this know what the ice bucket challenge/cold water challenge is already. If not, then just Google it.
Somewhere in between May and June, I saw the cold water challenge used by Key Clubbers to raise awareness and fundraise for the ELIMINATE Project. In short, Kiwanis and UNICEF banded together to rid maternal and neonatal tetanus (MNT) from Earth entirely. MNT causes newborns to suffer from convulsions and have extreme sensitivity to light and touch. But instead of dumping an entire bucket of ice water on yourselves, you had to jump into a body of cold water instead (since the weather was still a bit chilly during the time). I got nominated for it by my friend Kelly, and I decided to donate $10 instead of seeking out a body of cold water.
I stopped seeing it on my news feed for the entire month of July and forgot about it. Then BAM, suddenly the cold water challenge came back in the form of an ice bucket challenge. This time, it's to raise awareness for the ALS Association. I'm going to be honest: I don't know much about ALS, but I do know that it deteriorates the motor neurons, which will cause patients to lose control of their muscle movement. Eventually, the deterioration of the motor neurons can cause death. The ice water challenge already raised a crazy $31.5 million! And of course, I was nominated by Amy, Cameron, and Alexis. So along with actually dumping ice water on myself, I donated $10 to ALSA.
Of course, ELIMINATE and ALSA puts these donations to good use. ELIMINATE uses the funds to vaccinate mothers and their families to protect them from MNT, and ALSA uses the funds to provide support and care for those who suffer from ALS. Both are phenomenal causes, and have done a lot of good for the world.
Although there is no such thing as bad publicity, I feel that people have lost the point of this challenge in the first place. Instead of actually spreading awareness for these diseases, this has just become a trend that people do and nominate their friends in mainly to see others dump an entire bucket of ice water on themselves. I'm not gonna say that it's a waste of water, but I do admit that it is pretty funny to watch my friends' reactions. However, I'm sure that if I asked the people on my news feed what ALSA even is, about 50% of them wouldn't know. I'm not gonna lie--I thought it was for Alex's Lemonade Stand when I first saw "ALS."
Since this challenge calls for people to decide between 1) dumping ice water on themselves, or 2) donate x amount of money to ALSA if not completed within 24 hours, it just gives people an option to opt out of donating to this organization, dump water on themselves, and call it a day.
Yes, this is raising awareness. Yes, this has indeed received a lot of donations. Yes, this is a fun and unique way to do so. But for those who haven't done the cold water/ice bucket challenge yet, I encourage you to not only dump a bucket of ice water on yourself, but to also donate any amount to ALSA.
From what I see on my news feeds, people ask others to donate $100. But seeing that most people on my feeds are broke college students, they rather dump water on themselves because most of us don't have $100 lying around to donate, even if it's for a good cause.
The ice bucket challenge is fun and creative! Just remember what it's about in the first place.
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