The Ice Bucket Challenge Achieved ALS awareness, but not without a cost
With temperatures hitting an all time high this summer, the idea of having a bucket of ice thrown at you sounds all the more tempting. The ALS Ice Bucket Challenge does just that and went viral across the globe. The challenge involves dumping a bucket full of icy cold water over someone’s head. Individuals are to nominate participants and dare them to partake in the challenge. The nominated participants must be filmed having the bucket of ice water poured on their head after naming their nominees to take the challenge. The catch you ask? They are given 24 hours to comply with the dare or surrender; the penalty for which is giving monetary donations to the ALS Association. This was a phenomenon introduced in an attempt to promote awareness of the disease and encourage donations to fund research.
Amytrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS)
So far people have been referring to Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis in its acronym form – ALS. Otherwise known as “Lou Gehrig’s Disease,” ALS 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.
As motor neurons degenerate, they can no longer send impulses to the muscle fibers that normally result in muscle movement. Early symptoms of ALS often include increasing muscle weakness, especially involving the arms and legs, speech, swallowing or breathing. When muscles no longer receive the messages from the motor neurons that they require to function, the muscles begin to atrophy (decrease in mass). Limbs begin to look “thinner” as muscle tissue atrophies.
A little spark of creativity can truly go a long way for a cause. Not only did the campaign generate funding in the millions, but it also educated society in the process. Credit must be given where it is due; it made a disease that was previously unheard of by many – with the exception of those suffering from it such as Hawking and Gehrig – into a universal phenomenon.
Between Creativity and Wastage
If only for a short period of time, the ice bucket challenge provided people with a new perspective of ALS. Suddenly ALS was something that the citizens of the world could collectively help solve.
When a concept becomes an overnight sensation, critics wait around every corner to burst the short term bubble of joy. For starters, the Ice Bucket Challenge is being accepted and completed for all the wrong reasons. Some have argued that people are doing it as a fun way to keep busy and entertain themselves rather than supporting the cause. How many people have actually paid up for donations, aside from celebrities that have bank account that could easily compete with Scrooge McDuck’s infamous money bin?
“Non-profits and charities don’t have big marketing budgets so sometimes they’ve got to do something a bit out of the ordinary to grab people’s attention.”
– Louise Walsh, CEO of Philanthropy Australia
Others are of the opinion that the challenge is offensive to say the very least. A bucket of freezing cold water was supposed to be a punishment for not complying and donating. Participants are overlooking or failing to comprehend the rationale behind it all – donate money to the cause -and instead are making a mockery out of it. I highly doubt that a ten year old or even teenager is taking part for philanthropic reasons.
The mother lode of all criticism however came from international organisations and non-governmental organizations, who have said that while commendable, the challenge may be a case of misplaced priorities. Figures estimate that approximately 6 million gallons of water have been used to participate in the challenge. Meanwhile, some 783 million people in developing world countries lack access to clean drinking water. Since July, $20,000,000 has been raised for ALS and, ironically, The Water Project was able to raise only $1,800,000 over a span of a year.
A hand full of influential individuals tried to work around these criticisms and found other ways to support the cause. Hollywood actor Matt Damon suggested using water out of the toilet arguing that it is still cleaner than most third world countries. Charlie Sheen has suggested filling up the bucket with the amount of money that you plan to donate instead in order to preserve water and yet be a supporter to the cause.
Spin-Offs and Silver Linings
The Ice Bucket Challenge sparked a bit of creativity inspiring many to come up with their own challenges. The Ten Book Challenge for one brought out the nerdy side of us. The participant is to challenge others to list ten books they have read that inspired them or left an impact in any way. I must admit it was fun and interesting to see some the books people all over the world were reading.
Captivated by the Rice Bucket Challenge – donating a bucket of rice to someone in need – Palestinians were inspired to start their own Rubble Bucket Challenge as a symbol of solidarity with those who lost their homes in Gaza as a result of the conflict with Israel over summer. Since water was a scarcity, they decided to fill the buckets with rubble and sand.
The Ice Bucket Challenge may have been fun for some while it lasted. Despite the negativity ignited along its way, it can be argued every cloud has a silver lining. How else would the little philanthropists inside us be inspired to find new ways to support their favourite causes.
Image from: http://time.com/3107510/ice-bucket-challenge-als-we-need-to-do-better/