Talk about a bucket list!
Atlanta Braves Freddie Freeman and Jason Heyward. HLN legal loudmouth Nancy Grace. And — what could be more appropriate? — Matty Ice.
Those are just some of the better known locals who've caught the frosty wave of the little charitable PR campaign that could. In a little more than three weeks, the Ice Bucket Challenge has turned into an unprecedented juggernaut that underscores the power of social media to bring mostly positive attention to a good cause (in this case, ALS).
(Of course, the all-too-human desire to show off or teasingly drag others into the spotlight has played a role, too.)
You’ve probably heard of the Ice Bucket Challenge by now. Heck, at this very moment, you might even be picking a few lingering stalactites from your own nostrils — all the while good-naturedly cursing the well-meaning “friend” who got you into this.
At least you’re in good, shivering company:
NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell has poured a bucket of frigid water all over himself to help raise awareness for ALS. So have Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg, fine living doyenne Martha Stewart (she probably made her own, very classy bucket) and a boatload of Kennedys en masse.
Nor is it just big names taking the plunge for charity. About 100 employees of Atlanta-based Kabbage took the challenge Friday morning. Meanwhile, you can't open up your email or Twitter or Facebook feeds these days without finding hilarious new videos of someone you know suddenly sporting soaked clothes and extremely shocked expressions.
In the unlikely event you've been stuck off on an ice floe somewhere, here's a quick catch-up on what's become a viral video and social networking sensation. And — better yet — a public relations and fundraising boon for the ALS Association. The challenge was an Internet-created creature that got turned into an outright phenomenon in late July thanks to former Boston College baseball player Pete Frates, who heard about it from fellow ALS patient Pat Quinn. Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis is a progressive neurodegenerative disease that affects nerve cells in the brain and spinal cord. ALS has no cure and often leads to total paralysis and death within two to five years of diagnosis.
Frates has lost the ability to talk, but his take on the challenge — he posted a video of himself bouncing his head along to a soundtrack of Vanilla Ice’s hit “Ice, Ice Baby” — spoke volumes in other ways.
Social media quickly became crowded with videos of others indulging in the standard Ice Bucket Challenge: Pour a bucket of ice cold water all over yourself, preferably on video; then issue a very public challenge to someone else to do the same. (Atlanta Falcons quarterback Matt "Matty Ice" Ryan nominated teammates Roddy White, Harry Douglas and Julio Jones, for instance; the Falcons were challenged by local film tycoon Tyler Perry, who also got Oprah to do it.) That person then has 24 hours to make good on the challenge, or else make a $100 donation to an ALS charity.
As the trend has spread, the challenge has evolved into a more general plea for donations to ALS.
Who knew that one little drop in the bucket would quickly grow into a bigger water-based sensation than "Sharknado"? On TV, ABC's "Good Morning America" team doused itself then issued an on-air "I dare 'ya" to the cast of "Modern Family." On Twitter, #icebucketchallenge is trending with everyone from Grace to the Broadway cast and crew of "The Book of Mormon."
Of course, a few naysayers have tried pouring cold water all over the grass-roots campaign, complaining that it gives people a watery out from making donations. Or that it’s just the latest example of how social media allows people to supposedly get “involved” in a cause without ever actually getting out of their PJs or La-Z-Boy recliners.
In fact, though, it seems just the opposite is happening.
As of Aug. 18, some $15.6 million in donations have poured into the ALS Association and its 38 chapters, compared to $1.6 million over the same three-week period last year. (Kabbage, an online lender to small businesses, is donating $100 per employee who participated in the challenge.) Equally important when it comes to fighting something many people know only vaguely as "Lou Gehrig's disease," public awareness is clearly on an upswing. Since July 29, 307,598 new donors have contributed to the association.
“We have never seen anything like this in the history of the disease,” said Barbara Newhouse, president and CEO of the ALS Association. “People who have never before heard of ALS are now engaged in the fight to find treatments and a cure for ALS.”
In other words, go soak your head.
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