#IceBucketChallenge

The past weeks on social media have been very freezing and literally „ice cold“.

In order to raise awareness, people all across the world are dumping buckets of ice water on themselves in the name of ALS research and then challenging two or three friends to do the same within the next twenty-four hours. The videos tagged #IceBucketChallenge and #ALSIceBucketChallenge are all posted to a social media site e.g. Instagram, Twitter or Facebook and three former “Roswell” cast members completed the challenge, as well.

ALS, or Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, also known as Lou Gehrig’s disease is a progressive neurodegenerative disease that affects nerve cells in the brain and the spinal cord. As the cells die, the victim loses motor functions, leading to paralysis while the mind is still intact.

Even if there are some debats on the depth of awareness with a fun campaign the critics can’t deny the huge success and increased willingness to donate. Also, the Ice Bucket Challange is going to lay groundwork for fundraising.

“We have never seen anything like this in the history of the disease,” said Barbara Newhouse, President and CEO of The ALS Association.

“We couldn’t be more thrilled with the level of compassion, generosity and sense of humor that people are exhibiting as they take part in this impactful viral initiative.”

As of Friday, August 22, The ALS Association has received $53.3. million in donations compared to $2.2 million during the same time period last year (July 29 to August 21). These donations have come from existing donors and 1.1 million new donors to The Association.

“While the monetary donations are absolutely incredible,” said Newhouse, “the visibility that this disease is getting as a result of the challenge is truly invaluable. People who have never before heard of ALS are now engaged in the fight to find treatments and a cure for ALS.” (Please read the full article on ALS.org.)

So far the line up of famous participants includes Bill Gates, Justin Timberlake, Lady Gaga, Jennifer Aniston and Mark Zuckerberg. Colin Hanks, Shiri Appleby and most recently Emilie De Ravin completed the challenge. The former Roswell actors released short videos via Instagram.

Two weeks ago, Colin Hanks was nominated by Dustin Brown, the Captain of the Los Angeles Kings. He accepted the challenge and donated 100 dollars to the ALS research. Colin nominated Rich Eisen, Sophia Bush and Ryan Kalil.

Shiri accepted the challenge from Sally Pressman. She nominated Sarah Hendler, her “Un-Real” co-star Constance Zimmer and Ashlee Margolis. Emilie posted her video on her Instagram, as well. She nominated her “Once Upon a Time” co-star Robert Carlyle as well as her “The Submarine Kid” co-star Finn Wittrock.

Please make sure to visit ALSA.org for more information and please check out the links below:

What Is ALS
Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), often referred to as “Lou Gehrig’s Disease,” is a progressive neurodegenerative disease that ….

ALS Ice Bucket Challenge Takes U.S. by Storm
In the last two weeks, the Ice Bucket Challenge™ has quite ….

Fight ALS with the #IceBucketChallenge
Take the challenge, donate and help us create a world without ALS!