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Ice Bucket Challenge

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Doing the ALS Ice Bucket Challenge.

The Ice Bucket Challenge, sometimes called the ALS Ice Bucket Challenge, is an activity involving dumping a bucket of ice water on someone's head to promote awareness of the disease amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) and encourage donations to research. It went viral throughout social media during mid 2014.[1][2] In the UK, people participate in the challenge for the Motor Neurone Disease Association.[3]

The challenge dares nominated participants to be filmed having a bucket of ice water poured on their heads and challenging others to do the same. A common stipulation is that nominated people have 24 hours to comply or forfeit by way of a charitable financial donation.[4]

Origin

The origins of the idea of dumping cold water on one's head to raise money for charity are unclear and have been attributed to multiple sources. From mid-2013 to early 2014, a challenge of unknown origin often called the "Cold Water Challenge" became popular on social media in areas of the northern United States. The task usually involved the option of either donating money to cancer research or having to jump into cold water.[5]

One version of the challenge, which took place in Salem, Indiana as early as May 15, 2014, involved dousing participants with cold water and then donating to a charity;[6] for example, the Auckland Division of the Cancer Society of New Zealand.[7] As with similar challenges, it was usually filmed so footage can be shared online.

The National Fallen Firefighters Foundation popularized the "Cold Water Challenge" in early 2014 to raise funds as an unsanctioned spin-off of the polar plunge most widely used by Special Olympics as a fundraiser.[8]

On May 20, 2014, the Washington Township, New Jersey fire department posted a video on YouTube participating in the "Cold Water Challenge" with fire hoses. Participating members of the department were subsequently punished for using fire department equipment without permission.[9]

Atlanta Falcons players, coaches, and staff take the Ice Bucket Challenge.

Shifting focus to ALS

The challenge first received increased media attention in the United States on June 30, 2014, when personalities of the program Morning Drive, which airs weekdays on Golf Channel, televised the social-media phenomenon, and performed a live, on-air Ice Bucket Challenge.[10]

Soon after, the challenge was brought to mainstream audiences when television anchor Matt Lauer did the Ice Bucket Challenge on July 15, 2014 on NBC's The Today Show at Greg Norman's challenge.[11][12]

On the same day, golfer Chris Kennedy did the challenge and then challenged his cousin Jeanette Senerchia of Pelham, New York, whose husband, Anthony, has had ALS for 11 years. Kennedy "was the first ... to focus the freezing fundraiser on ALS research."[13]

Green Bay local radio and TV personality John Maino performs the ALS Ice Bucket Challenge.

Former Boston College baseball player Pete Frates, who has ALS began posting about the challenge on Twitter.[14] Frates is a patient advocate who was awarded the Stephen Heywood Patients Today Award in 2012 for his fundraising and advocacy work.[15] Frates' Boston College and sporting connections became an initial focus of the challenge and strengthened its focus on ALS.[16]

The President of the United States, Barack Obama, was challenged by Ethel Kennedy but declined, opting to contribute to the campaign with a donation of $100.[17] Justin Bieber,[18] LeBron James,[19] and "Weird" Al Yankovic[20] also challenged President Obama after completing the Ice Bucket Challenge. Former president George W. Bush completed the challenge and nominated Bill Clinton.[21] The Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, David Cameron, was challenged by both Alex Salmond[22] and Russell Brand,[23] but also declined in favour of a donation.

Rules

Within 24 hours of being challenged, participants have to record a video of themselves in continuous footage. First, they are to announce their acceptance of the challenge followed by pouring ice into a bucket of water. Then, the bucket is to be lifted and poured over the participant's head. Then the participant can call out a challenge to other people.

Whether people choose to donate, perform the challenge, or do both varies. In one version of the challenge, the participant is expected to donate $10 if they have poured the ice water over their head or donate $100 if they have not.[24] In another version, dumping the ice water over the participant's head is done in lieu of any donation, which has led to some criticisms of the challenge being a form of "slacktivism".[25] Individual videos have included the participant saying that they will be making a donation along with performing the challenge.

Governor of South Carolina Nikki Haley does the ALS Ice Bucket Challenge.

Effects

In mid-2014, the Ice Bucket Challenge went viral on social media and became a pop culture phenomenon, particularly in the United States, with numerous celebrities, politicians, athletes, and everyday Americans posting videos of themselves online and on TV participating in the event.[4][17]

According to The New York Times people shared more than 1.2 million videos on Facebook between June 1 and August 13 and mentioned the phenomenon more than 2.2 million times on Twitter between July 29 and August 17.[26] Mashable called the phenomenon "the Harlem Shake of the summer".[11]

Prior to the challenge, public awareness of the disease amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) was relatively limited; the ALS Association state that prior to the challenge going viral only half of Americans had heard of the disease,[26] often referred to as "Lou Gehrig's disease", after the famous baseball player Lou Gehrig, who publicly revealed his diagnosis back in the 1940s.

After the Ice Bucket Challenge went viral on social media, public awareness and charitable donations to ALS charities soared. The New York Times reported that the ALS Association had received $41.8 million in donations from July 29 until August 21. More than 739,000 new donors have given money to the association, which is more than double the $19.4 million in total contributions the association received during the year that ended January 31, 2013.[27] Similarly, the ALS Therapy Development Institute reported a ten-fold increase in donations relative to the same period in 2014,[28] with over 2,000 donations made in a single day on August 20, 2014, while Project ALS reported a 50-fold increase.[29]

The ALS Association, which had raised $64 million in all of 2013, raised more than $10 million on Thursday, August 21, 2014 alone.[30]

In the United Kingdom, people have also been facing the challenge for the Motor Neurone Disease Association, the only national charity in England, Wales and Northern Ireland focused on MND care, research and campaigning.[3]

On August 22, 2014, the Detroit Free Press reported that scammers were taking advantage of the challenge.[31] The scam usually involves sending an email containing promises of watching videos of the challenge and then installing either spyware or malware on the user's computer or taking them to a fake website where they are asked to enter personal information.[31]

Criticism

A number of criticisms have arisen relating to the campaign, accusing it of being self-congratulatory,[32] focusing primarily on fun rather than donating money to charity, and as an example of substituting a trivial activity for more genuine involvement in charitable activities. Writing in The Daily Telegraph, William Foxton described the challenge as "a middle-class wet-T-shirt contest for armchair clicktivists".[33]

William MacAskill, Vice-President of Giving What We Can, suggested that the challenge encouraged moral licensing, meaning that some people might use taking part in the challenge as a substitute for other charitable acts. He also proposed that by attracting donations for ALS, the challenge was "cannibalizing" potential donations that otherwise would have gone to other charities instead.[34]

American stunt performer and TV personality Steve-O questioned the campaign, suggesting that celebrities' videos generally forgot to share donation information for ALS charities, and that the initial $15 million dollars in funds was insignificant, given the star power of the celebrities participating. He noted that, of the videos he viewed, only Charlie Sheen and Bill Gates noted that the point is to donate money.[35]

Pamela Anderson refused to take part in the challenge because of the use of animal experimentation in ALS research.[36] Members of the pro-life movement criticised the campaign because of the connection between embryonic stem cell research and ALS research.[37]

On August 22, 2014, Dr. Brian O'Neill, a physician at the Detroit Medical Center, warned that the challenge may have adverse health effects on participants, including potentially inducing a vagal response which might, for example, lead to unconsciousness in people taking blood pressure medications.[38] A number of participants have sustained injuries.[39]

Criticism also targeted the waste of water, especially in California, due to that region's ongoing drought.[40]

Notable participants

Main article: List of Ice Bucket Challenge participants

References

  1. ^ Lost Coast Of New Zealand (2014-07-09). "Charities benefit from viral ice challenge". TVNZ. Retrieved 2014-08-17.
  2. ^ "News". Cancer Society Auckland. Retrieved 2014-08-17.
  3. ^ a b MND Association. "The MND Ice Bucket Challenge | Latest News". MND Association. Retrieved 2014-08-18.
  4. ^ a b Arco, Matt (August 13, 2014). "Governor Chris Christie gets in on 'Ice Bucket Challenge', dares Cory Booker". Nj.com. Retrieved August 13, 2014.
  5. ^ Perez, Iris (2014-06-25). "DNR: Don't rise 'Cold Water Challenge'". MyFox Twin Cities. Fox Television Stations. Retrieved 2014-08-17.
  6. ^ MacDonald, Janelle (May 15, 2014). "People take the plunge to support 7-year-old with brain tumor". Retrieved August 24, 2014.
  7. ^ "The Ice Water Challenge". Cancersocietyauckland.org.nz. Retrieved 2014-08-18.
  8. ^ "'Ice bucket challenge' charity fundraiser gains momentum". Dispatch.com. Retrieved 2014-08-18.
  9. ^ "'Cold water challenge' video lands Washington Township firefighters in hot water after video posted online". nj.com. Retrieved 2014-08-18.
  10. ^ "Gary Williams Takes Ice Bucket Challenge". Golfchannel.com. NBC Sports Group. Retrieved 2014-08-18.
  11. ^ a b Kelly, Samantha Murphy (August 16, 2014). "Ice Bucket Challenge Wasn't Originally About ALS". Mashable. Retrieved August 21, 2014.
  12. ^ Herbert, Geoff (August 18, 2014). "Who started the Ice Bucket Challenge? ALS Association's viral fundraiser has NY roots". The Post-Standard. Retrieved August 21, 2014.
  13. ^ "Who Invented the Ice Bucket Challenge?: A search for the fundraising phenomenon's cold, soaked patient zero" by Josh Levin. Slate, August 22, 2014.[1]
  14. ^ Kaufman, Gil (August 15, 2014). "Who Invented The Ice Bucket Challenge?". mtv.com. Retrieved August 17, 2014.
  15. ^ ALSTDI (November 19, 2012). "Peter Frates (2012 Stephen Heywood Patients Today Honoree)". Retrieved August 22, 2014.
  16. ^ English, Bella (August 15, 2014). "Stricken with ALS, Pete Frates shows the will to live". Boston Globe. Retrieved August 22, 2014.
  17. ^ a b "Obama Rejects ALS Ice Bucket Challenge, Will Donate to Charity Instead". CBS DC. August 13, 2014. Retrieved August 13, 2014.
  18. ^ "Justin Bieber Ice Bucket Challenge ALS - Justin Bieber Nominates Obama, Ellen & Chris D'Elia". Youtube.com.
  19. ^ "King vs. president? LeBron takes Ice Bucket Challenge, tags Obama". Fox Sports. August 17, 2014.
  20. ^ "Weird" Al Yankovic. "Ice Bucket Challenge". Youtube.com.
  21. ^ George W. Bush. "George W. Bush's Ice Bucket Challenge video on Facebook". Facebook.com.
  22. ^ "BBC News - Salmond and Sturgeon complete ice bucket challenge". bbc.co.uk. August 24, 2014. Retrieved August 24, 2014.
  23. ^ "ITV News - Russell Brand nominates PM to do Ice Bucket Challenge". itv.co.uk. August 22, 2014. Retrieved August 24, 2014.
  24. ^ "Health: Local ALS Researchers Take Ice Bucket Challenge". CBS Philadelphia. August 12, 2014. Retrieved August 17, 2014.
  25. ^ "#IceBucketChallenge: Why You're Not Really Helping". Huffington Post. August 7, 2014. Retrieved August 17, 2014.
  26. ^ a b Steel, Emily (August 17, 2014). "'Ice Bucket Challenge' Has Raised Millions for ALS Association". The New York Times. Retrieved August 21, 2014.
  27. ^ Steel, Emily (August 21, 2014). "'Ice Bucket Challenge' Donations for A.L.S. Research Top $41 Million". The New York Times. Retrieved August 22, 2014.
  28. ^ Herper, Matthew (August 19, 2014). "Think The ALS Ice Bucket Challenge Is Stupid? You're Wrong". Forbes.
  29. ^ Dewey, Caitlin (August 12, 2014). "Stop hating on the ice bucket challenge — it's raised millions of dollars for charity". The Washington Post.
  30. ^ Worland, Justin, "Ice Bucket Challenge ALS Donations Break $50 Million Mark", time.com, August 22, 2014; accessed August 24, 2014.
  31. ^ a b Meyer, Zlati. "Ice Bucket Challenge being used for scams". WWZM13. Detroit Free Press. Retrieved August 23, 2014.
  32. ^ Hogan, Michael (August 14, 2014). "The celebrity ice-bucket challenge leaves me cold". The Telegraph. Retrieved August 20, 2014.
  33. ^ Foxton, Willard. "The Ice Bucket Challenge – a middle-class wet-T-shirt contest for armchair clicktivists". Blogs.telegraph.co.uk. Retrieved August 23, 2014.
  34. ^ MacAskill, William (August 18, 2014). "Comment: The cold, hard truth about the ice bucket challenge". Sbs.com.au. Retrieved 2014-08-20.
  35. ^ "Steve-O takes aim at stars over ice bucket challenge". MSN. Microsoft. August 19, 2014. Retrieved August 19, 2014.
  36. ^ Selby, Jenn (August 22, 2014). "Pamela Anderson rejects ice bucket challenge because of ALS experiments on animals: 'Mice had holes drilled into their skulls'". The Independent. {{cite news}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in: |publisher= (help)
  37. ^ Crandell, Courtney. "Critics throw cold water on the Ice Bucket Challenge". worldmag.com.
  38. ^ "Doctor Explains Potential Dangers Of ALS "Ice Bucket Challenge"". CBS Detroit. August 23, 2014. Retrieved August 23, 2014.
  39. ^ Jernigan, Joy. "Ouch! Ice Bucket Challenge leaves some bruised and battered — or worse - Health". TODAY.com. Retrieved August 23, 2014.
  40. ^ Klimas, Liz (August 19, 2014). "Someone Actually Calculated How Much Water Has Been Used for All Those 'Ice Bucket Challenges' — and It's a Lot More Than You Probably Thought". TheBlaze. Retrieved August 23, 2014.
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