The Ice Bucket Challenge social media campaign has become a major success story in fundraising for the ALS Association. Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) is a neurodegenerative disorder that is commonly referred to as Lou Gehrig’s disease. There is no cure for ALS; however, there are numerous treatments that are designed to alleviate symptoms and improve patients’ quality of life.

The premise of the Ice Bucket Challenge is that you take a bucket of ice water, dump it on yourself, post it on social media, tag it, and then challenge others to do the same thing. Tweeting, posting, and tagging have exploded over the past few weeks. Where did the idea for the Ice Bucket Challenge originate? It got its start on the golf course as a way for golfers to get support for their charities. On July 15, 2014, golfer Chris Kennedy started the ALS challenge by daring his cousin Jeanette Senerchia, whose husband had lived with ALS for 11 years. Jeanette lives in Pelham, NY, and the town embraced the concept. Before you knew it, the practice went viral and kept on growing. Pat Quinn, a 31 year old living with ALS who is connected to Pete Frates, the 29-year-old Boston College baseball player who has ALS, caught up with it on Facebook and the rest is history.

Yes, it’s cold and you do get soaked, but regular people, sports teams, schools, and celebrities such as Justin Timberlake, Jimmy Fallon, Ethel Kennedy, Mark Zuckerberg, Matt Lauer, and Greg Norman have accepted the challenge! The ALS Association has seen an incredible rise in donations and awareness, and these contributions will go toward furthering their mission to find a cure. Why not experience the #IceBucketChallenge today? We challenge you!

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Reference

  1. ALS ice bucket challenge takes U.S. by storm. ALS Association website. August 12, 2014. http://www.alsa.org/news/archive/als-ice-bucket-challenge.html.
  2. Ice bucket challenge leads to 1000% spike in donations to ALS association. Huffington Post website. August 11, 2014. http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2014/08/11/ice-bucket-challenge-fundraising_n_5668602.html.
  3. Lavoie D. Soaked for charity: Ice bucket challenges get cool. Yahoo! News website. August 7, 2014. http://news.yahoo.com/soaked-charity-ice-bucket-challenges-cool-223817088.html.
  4. Reddy S. How the ice-bucket challenge got its start. The Wall Street Journal website. August 14, 2014. http://online.wsj.com/articles/how-the-ice-bucket-challenge-got-its-start-1408049557.