As if it wasn’t already viral.
The ALS Ice Bucket Challenge continues shocking people globally. It is nearly impossible to find a celebrity, authority figure or sports player, let alone any person in the general public who has not been challenged.
The challenge is raising awareness at a rapid rate, and has become a household name in a brief amount of time. Although the fundraiser has only existed since the middle of summer, millions of dollars have been raised.
The media has been bombarded with IBC videos. About 2.4 million videos have been uploaded to Facebook alone, and an even greater 3.7 million to Instagram. The popularity of the challenge has drawn an incredible amount of money. To date, $107.4 million has been donated to the ALS Foundation.
“It’s great that the charity has gotten so much money and so much attention so quickly,” senior Brianna Pierson said. “It’s amazing what social media can do.”
With an incredible nine digits, the ALS Foundation has received more income in a little over a month than it has during one normal year all because of the fundraiser.
The IBC was never intended to become a worldwide phenomenon, but is naturally “contagious” because with each challenge completed, several are created, which makes for an effective (and chilly) fundraiser.
“I think it’s pretty awesome that ALS is getting some attention,” senior Nikki Quach said.
Many EHS students have been recently challenged as well as faculty members and even administrators.
“It’s for a good cause, it raises awareness, and plus it was 100 degrees outside, so I figured it would be refreshing,” administrator Alex Fox said.
As beneficial as the fundraiser is, it does have the potential to lose meaning and become trivial.
“I think it’s a worthwhile thing. I don’t like mainstream so if the focus is lost, it becomes meaningless,” Mr. Fox said. “It’s not just about posting a video to Facebook and dumping water on your head.”
Although the IBC could become a new fad, the ALS Foundation will inevitably need a much larger piggy bank.
