Over the past few months, the ALS Ice Bucket Challenge has dominated social media. Thousands of Facebook, Twitter and Instagram news feeds have been filled with videos of people pouring buckets of ice water over their heads and challenging friends to do the same.
Everyone from Lebron James, Tiger Woods and Rory Mcllroy, to Oprah Winfrey and Justin Beiber has taken the challenge to raise money and spread awareness. Even my parents and 12-year-old cousins have participated in the craze.
Participants have gotten more and more creative with their videos. I’ve seen everything from friends throwing buckets on each other in a chain to people allowing truck beds full of water to be emptied on them. Although it can get tiresome to see my news feeds clogged with videos, they are pretty entertaining. The UF community has gotten involved too, from University of Florida President Bernie Machen to Athletic Director Jeremy Foley to UF cheerleaders and sorority and fraternity houses challenging each other. Phi Delta Theta even introduced the 1st Annual Dunk Tank Challenge to raise money and awareness for ALS. The Florida Alpha chapter challenged people to dunk Student Body President Cory Yeffet, IFC president Zack Kandel, and sorority presidents.
More importantly however, the Internet sensation has helped raise $100 million in a month—an increase of 3,500% from the $2.8 million that the ALS Association raised during the same time period last year. For those who argue that the challenge plays to an individual’s narcissism and doesn’t actually raise money or awareness—numbers don’t lie. Thanks to the viral videos, ALS is now a part of daily conversation. The Association, although not as well known as the American Cancer Society for example, received money from 1.7 million first-time donors. People are not only filming the videos; they are actively donating to the cause and truly spreading awareness of an obscure disease that affects so many people. As the challenge winds down, and videos become less and less frequent, it is important to remember the impact something as simple as dumping ice water over your head and donating a few dollars can have.
