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Are You Doing the ALS Ice Bucket Challenge?

Are you doing the ALS Ice Bucket Challenge?

A little too quiet in real life, Amrita prefers to let the loudness of her opinions express themselves in written form. A sucker for quiet nights under the stars, intelligent conversation and chocolate, she wants to travel the world (preferably with her typewriter), visit all the libraries she possibly can and hopefully revive the love for literature - both classic and well, not classic. She also enjoys employing sarcasm on a daily basis and cliche TV shows.

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Anyone who has access to social media, be it Instagram, Facebook or otherwise, has almost definitely seen the currently trending ALS Ice Bucket Challenge.

Here’s the philanthropist [among other things], Bill Gates, following Zuckerberg’s nomination:

If you haven’t yet, scroll through your feed [or this article], and you’re certain to see either a celebrity or someone you know giving a few nominations and getting a bucket of ice water dumped on them, with the caption #ALSIceBucketChallenge and #StrikeOutALS. Awareness of this disease is definitely a worthy cause, but before you set your teeth chattering, keep a few things in mind:

1)      Be informed: Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) or Motor Neurone Disease (MND) affects a person’s ability to move voluntarily. While the person continues to think and feel, they are often unable to walk, eat or talk. It is fairly rare and once diagnosed, the sufferer is usually given 2-5 years to live. There is no known cure at present.

Here’s a link to a challenge done by an actual ALS sufferer, Anthony Carbajal, which shows you the reality of the disease:

 

2)      Donate if you can: the Ice Bucket Challenge is to raise awareness of ALS, but many people are choosing to donate as well as take part in the challenge, such as Charlie Sheen here:

 

Even a little bit makes a difference! Here’s a link to the ALS Association website – http://www.alsa.org/

3)      Don’t berate it without reason: As with any viral sensation, people have struck back against it by citing wastage of water and calling it another instance of ‘slacktivism’. Instead of arguing against it, share links to ALS organizations and/or remind people that water is scarce, as Troian Bellisario does here:

 

Regardless of how you look at it, as of 18th August, the ALS Association has received over $15.6 million in donations.

4)      Go look up all the crazy challenges: They’re really fun to watch! Famous sportspeople such Cristiano Ronaldo and Usain Bolt, music superstars such as Martin Garrix and Lady Gaga, actors such as Tom Cruise and Ritiesh Deshmukh, and even tech giants Bill Gates and Mark Zuckerburg have joined in on the fun! Here’s a link to my personal favorite, Tom Hiddleston (drool).

 

5)      Participate: Go ahead and do it! Watch your friends’ challenges, nominate people and make sure you don’t catch a cold in the process!

What do you think of this latest viral trend? Are there any celebrities you wish would take part in the challenge?