Over a million have participated in one of the most viral fundraising campaign. From Mark Zuckerberg, Justin Bieber to Bill Gates. One of the most familiar concept that is usually seen on Twitter or Facebook at this time are random people doing, accepting and challenging six others to do the ice bucket challenge before pouring down a bucket full of ice and water to himself or herself at least. A whole lot of media attention has been gained from these viral videos and an organization and its beneficiaries are more than happy.
The ALS ice bucket challenge started out as a fairly simple fundraising. It all started as a campaign to support the ALS foundation which supports people with ALS. ALS or Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis or Lou Gehrig's disease is a neurodegenerative disease resulting to muscle weakness and progresses to paralysis. Most patients die from respiratory failure. Statistics show that over 5,600 people in the U.S. are diagnosed with ALS every year. The first instance that the challenge was linked is from a guy named Chris Kennedy who did the challenge and chose ALS as his charity of choice and then, the video became widespread.
A quite number of people on the social media have been raising their eyebrows, 'So you dump a bucket of water on yourself to avoid donating money to charity? Who is that even helping?' But the ALS Association is certain that this could be a positive light for ALS patients. The organization shared that the campaign has received over 15$ million dollars since the viral bucket challenge sensation and the members are beyond convinced that this will greatly help the foundation. 'Exposure like this is what the ALS community needs so we can attempt to find a cure and reversal for people living with this insidious disease' ALS Association says.
