What were once hilarious cat videos, a fraternity parody tumblr, or BuzzFeed quizzes is now he ALS Ice bucket challenge. It has become the most viral video online at the moment. You can’t log onto Facebook or scroll though your Instagram feed without seeing someone dumping a giant bucket of ice-water on their head. And people are really outdoing themselves.
What started out as a simple bucket escalated to a helicopter lift of glacier water (Paul Bissonnette, check it out). It has gotten a lot of major Hollywood stars like Taylor Swift, Justin Beiber, Jimmy Fallon, and Justin Timberlake stars to participate. Not only that but everyone knows plenty of people who have done it on campus. It is even reaching passed social media. Olivia Galuppo, who doesn’t even have a Facebook right now, had a friend text her the video as a nomination. KK Anderson, who was nominated by her sister, said it was so cold it took her breath away, and it sent an icy sensation down her spine! But until she was nominated she didn’t know anything about ALS or what it was.
For anyone who doesn’t know ALS stands for Amyotophic Lateral Sclorosis, also called Lou Gehrig’s disease. The disease affects nerve cells in the brain and the spinal chord. Unfortunately there is no cure or treatment for the very deadly disease. A little friendly completion and challenging is really bringing out the best in people. Since July 29th the foundation has raised over 11 million dollars(compared to the 1 million they had in this time frame last year). The foundation says “the unprecedented financial support will enable us to think outside the box.” However, it started months ago before we saw it all over social media. Emily Wikle, a senior, did it back in the Spring not realizing it started from ALS, and instead donated to the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society. The challenge has created a web of donations world wide helping several charities.
Even though there are people who don’t donate, the bucket challenge is really spreading the word about ALS. Now the challenge is entering Greek life after AOII had their underclassmen pour huge tubs of ice on some of their upperclassmen on Sunday August 17th and nominated the rest of Rebel Drive. Everyone knows how much sororities like to compete, especially right before recruitment, and I cannot wait to see how far this will go. Up until a few weeks ago I had no idea what it was, and if you had asked me a month ago if I would voluntarily allow somebody to pour a giant bucket of ice water on me there would be no chance. But after experiencing that freezing water I can’t wait to see how far it goes. Very rarely do we see the Internet causing such a good impact. Regardless of how freezing cold it feels, the cause is worth it. So grab a friend and accept the challenge, or donate, or both! Be creatively cold, because trust me it is freezing!
