The Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis  (ALS) ice bucket challenge is inescapable for anyone online or on social media or living under a pail.

The purpose of the challenge is to raise awareness of ALS and donate money to help find a cure. Anyone nominated must complete the challenge in 24 hours or they should donate money to the charity. Celebrities such as Oprah Winfrey and Jimmy Fallon have posted videos of themselves getting doused with freezing water online. It didn’t take long for more movie stars, athletes, and political figures to join in the fun.

After only a few short weeks, there were thousands of videos of screaming boys and girls taking on the challenge.

The whole phenomenon started with one man and one dare. Chris Kennedy, a professional golfer from Sarasota, Florida, was dared by his friend to pour ice water on his head or donate money to a charity of his choice. Kennedy completed the challenge, but still  donated money to a charity. He chose the ALS Foundation because he has a relative who suffers from the incurable disease.

Kennedy’s video was posted online, along with a list of people he nominated to complete the challenge. The video quickly went viral and the list of participants grew longer with each nominee. What was once a small community challenge turned into a worldwide phenomenon.

Many Regina students accepted the ALS ice bucket challenge. Audrey Jahns ’15, was nominated by Maeve Degnan and Erin French. “I wasn’t sure I was going to do it at first. But one day after cross-country, it was really hot so I thought it would be the perfect time to pour ice water on my head!” said Jahns. “I was happy to a part of a good cause. I cooled off and spread awareness at the same time,” said Jahns.

However, there are some critics of the ice bucket challenge because they see girls posting videos of themselves in bikinis and tight-fitting clothes. These critics believe some girls only complete the challenge for attention and don’t care about the meaning behind it.

However, completing the challenge for attention doesn’t eliminate the benefits of posting a video. Anyone completing the challenge for any reason still spreads awareness and by nominating others to take the challenge awareness of the cause along with a monetary donation is certainly a win-win situation.

The ALS Foundation has raised over $100 million this year. That is a 600 percent increase from the previous year. Hopefully, with the financial aspect taken care of, researchers can find a cure to this horrible disease. According the ALS website, the disease is a neuro-degenerative disease that affects the nerve cells from the brain to the spinal cord. Over time, muscle movement is lost leading to paralysis and death.
The ALS ice bucket challenge has been an enormous benefiting  so many people in  many different ways. This incredible challenge may have changed the way charities view and solicit fundraising forever.