If you live on the planet Earth you have surely heard about the ALS Ice Bucket Challenge. Everyone has done it, your friends, your family members, your co-workers, your grandma, and celebreites like Mark Zuckerberg, Martha Stewart, LeBron James, Justin Bieber, and more. One guy even dumped water on a baby to raise awareness.
Some wil argue that this campaign is social media at its best. Stating that it has brought attention to the non profit organization the ALS Association whose goals include "Providing care services to assist people with ALS and their families through a network of chapters working in communities across the nation and a global research program focused on the discovery of treatments and a cure for the disease." Some may say it is fantastic to support an orhganization who claims that its "efforts empower people to advance public policies in our nation's Capital that respond to the needs of people with ALS."
Some may argue that it was a fad, a way for people (who my not have even donated) to draw attention to themselves. Some may also say that it is wastfulfor a non-profit organization to promote wasting water. According to the Washington Post over $5 million gallons of fresh water has been wasted on this to date. The ALS Association states on their website that "The ALS Association is the only non-profit organization dedicated solely to fighting on all fronts." This may not be 100% correct there are other organizations who strive to "fight ALS on all fronts" Including: The ALS Therapy Development Institute, The ALS Therapy Alliance, The Muscular Dirophy Association, Prize4Life, Project A.L.S, The Robert Packard Center for ALS Research at Johns Hopkins, and more.
To date the ALS Ice Bucket Challenge to date has raised well over $114 million dollars for the ALS Association. Which is a fantastic fete-but what is the next step? When looking on their website they have an interesting response to the question "Can you give me a breakdown of how each Ice Bucket donation dollar will be allocated?" Stating:
While research and care services to patients and their families are our top priorities, we cannot provide a breakdown at this time. We appreciate the sense of urgency that exists and are already engaged in discussions on how we're going to put this money to work in the short term and into the future.
Regardless of how you feel. There is no doubt that this demonstrates how a simple hashtag has tremendous power.