Shiver, Else Be With The Cause: Ice Bucket Challenge Is Not Candy Crush Invitation

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Shiver, Else
Be With The Cause: Ice Bucket Challenge Is Not Candy Crush Invitation
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This has the perfect ingredients of a potboiler. It is adventurous, it is very ‘today’ and it has all the trappings of sensible ‘celebrityhood.’ Is it any surprise that the ALS Ice Bucket Challenge has gone viral from being a small event? It was simply bound to grow beyond leaps and bounds.

It’s a simple choice of pouring a bucket of ice water on self or donate $100 to ALS Association. And while you are at it, you also need to create a video of self, post it on social network and tag a few friends (six to be precise) challenging them to complete the task. The deadline is 24 hours within the time of tagging. Those who fail to respond, have to part with $100 donated to the ALS association within a stipulated time and declare it on the network.

The challenge has led to record collection of $23 million in contributions to the ALS Association and its affiliates. The show has received a major boost with celebrities, journalists, industrialists and government officials joining the challenge and passing it on to their friends and family, big time!

Some of the prominent names that have joined this challenge include Mark Zuckerberg, Justin Timberlake, Carmelo Anthony, Jennifer Lopez, Lady Gaga, Bill Gates, Jimmy Fallon, Taylor Swift and Justin Beiber among others.

What is ALS, after all? Is it a cause or a passing phase? Because with all the brouhaha surrounding the challenge, the ‘ALS’ of the Ice Bucket Challenge often gets ignored before the adventure. But, never miss the message here.
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ALS stands for Amyotrophic Lateral Scelorsis - a neurodegenerative disorder - also known as Lou Gehrig’s disease. This is a deadly disease that is fast claiming the lives of people with no known cure, leaving the person affected with only two to five years of life expectancy after diagnosis. It is estimated that 30,000 Americans are living with this killer disease.

What makes the ice challenge tick? This goofy thing for a challenge is very much rooted in today’s world, using tools that are available and popular today. While some may claim that celebrities join in for the sake of publicity they get from this; one may never be able to discount the fact that this ‘stunt’ (if we insist) has also led to the immense response in terms of fundraising.

The event has caught up like wildfire. And there are too many elements at work here. While it is about the adventure and/or contribution, it is not external to the doer. It has a small chink of adventure for self too. It is personal and social at the same time. Even when one doesn’t want to take it up and settle for donating a small amount, it makes the ‘loser’ feel super good about having given up. What’s more, either way your friends and family will feel proud of you. For once, social networking is being used for something that’s beyond today. And, that’s the coolest part of this!

So, are you ready with your ice water bucket yet?