ALS Ice Bucket Challenge Takes U.S. By Storm

In the last two weeks, the Ice Bucket Challenge^TM has quite literally “soaked” the nation. Everyone from Ethel Kennedy to Justin Timberlake has poured a bucket of ice water over his or her head and challenged others to do the same or make a donation to fight ALS within twenty-four hours.

Between July 29 and today, August 12, the ALS Association and its 38 chapters have received an astonishing $4 million in donations compared with $1.12 million during the same time period last year. The ALS Association is incredibly grateful for the outpouring of support from those people who have been doused, made a donation, or both.

“We have never seen anything like this in the history of the disease,” said Barbara Newhouse, President and CEO of the ALS Association.

With only about half of the general public knowledgeable about amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), the Ice Bucket Challenge is making a profound difference, since July 29, the Association has welcome more than 70,000 new donors to the cause.

“While the monetary donations are absolutely incredible,” said Newhouse, “”the visibility that this disease is getting as a result of the challenge is truly invaluable. People who have never before heard of ALS are now engaged in the fight to find treatments and a cure for ALS.”

Ice bucket challenge: who’s pouring cold water on the idea?

The ice bucket challenge has certainly raised awareness. Whether that’s primarily of the disease for which it is raising funds or the speed at which images of swimsuit-clad celebrities will go viral is a long-term question. More pertinent right now is whether or not the craze has reached a tipping point.

As it lived by social media, so the ice bucket challenge could die by it. The state of California is currently experiencing one of the worst drought on record. So gestures such as companies dousing their staff en mass in hundreds of gallons of ice water, come across more as wasteful PR exercises than charitable gestures- and are being called out as such on Twitter.

There has been a similar reaction in China. Last week, people in drought-stricken Henan province raised empty red buckets over their heads, accompanied by the slogan “Henan, please say no to the ice bucket challenge”.

China’s ministry for civil affairs, while broadly supportive, has warned citizens against the practice’s “entertainment and commercial tendencies”.

But the real dampener could be the risk of bodily harm. Doctors around the world have warmed of risks to elderly people, expectant mothers and people with heart conditions.