Most of us don’t need to try searching for information about the ALS Ice Bucket Challenge. We’ve been inundated with it - pun intended. Across the social media spectrum there have been 100s of videos uploaded by people dousing themselves and others with freezing cold ice water - all hashtagged with #ALSIceBucketChallenge.
ALS, or Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis, is more commonly known as Lou Gehrig's Disease. It is a pernicious disease that affects the nerve cells in the brain and spinal cord.
According to the Huffington Post, the ALS Association received $88.5 million in contributions between July 29th and August 26th, 2014. Most all of this giving is a direct result of the Ice Bucket Challenge. During the same period last year, the non-profit raised $2.6 million - this years donations represent an increase of a multiple of 34.
My own impression of the ALS Ice Bucket Challenge is that it has brought the best out of people and demonstrated the awesome power of social media to bring peoples together for good, for education, for community and to advance the human condition. From politicians to actors, rappers, sports heroes and the like, it seems like everyone has found something about the Ice Bucket Challenge that resonates within themselves. What I see on social media is an extension of a community booster club. Instead of having 100 neighbors all pitching in, the reach of social media has brought attention and revenue from 1000s of people who may not have ever heard of Lou Gehrig’s Disease.
Does it matter if any of these people have has a personal connection to ASL? I don’t think so. I think what matters is that social media was leveraged to demonstrate good will, generosity, and humor, which brought enormous resources to an organization in order for it to carry out its mission. Imagine what social media could bring to your classroom…
ALS, or Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis, is more commonly known as Lou Gehrig's Disease. It is a pernicious disease that affects the nerve cells in the brain and spinal cord.
According to the Huffington Post, the ALS Association received $88.5 million in contributions between July 29th and August 26th, 2014. Most all of this giving is a direct result of the Ice Bucket Challenge. During the same period last year, the non-profit raised $2.6 million - this years donations represent an increase of a multiple of 34.
My own impression of the ALS Ice Bucket Challenge is that it has brought the best out of people and demonstrated the awesome power of social media to bring peoples together for good, for education, for community and to advance the human condition. From politicians to actors, rappers, sports heroes and the like, it seems like everyone has found something about the Ice Bucket Challenge that resonates within themselves. What I see on social media is an extension of a community booster club. Instead of having 100 neighbors all pitching in, the reach of social media has brought attention and revenue from 1000s of people who may not have ever heard of Lou Gehrig’s Disease.
Does it matter if any of these people have has a personal connection to ASL? I don’t think so. I think what matters is that social media was leveraged to demonstrate good will, generosity, and humor, which brought enormous resources to an organization in order for it to carry out its mission. Imagine what social media could bring to your classroom…