8 OCT. 16, 2014 Ice Bucket Challenge 9 OCT. 16, 2014 Ice Bucket Challenge

Videos have been popping up on social media of people screaming from dumping ice water on their heads, hoping to come together to raise awareness and funds for Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS). The Ice Bucket challenge, which has taken over social media, has raised over $100 million for ALS and gathered support from professional athletes, celebrities and typical Americans.

ALS is a disease that causes the parts of the nervous system that control the voluntary muscle movement to stop working, slowly paralyzing the person. Most people that are diagnosed with this disease live on average, only three to five years after they have been diagnosed. Despite some people’s objections, this movement has been successful at getting people to donate to the cause.

“I think that the ice bucket challenge is a great way for the

people that want to raise awareness about ALS to spread the word,” said Junior Garrett Uecker.

To participate in the challenge, people first get nominated or choose to do the challenge. After the participant has been nominated or decides to participate, they either decide to participate in the challenge or to donate to the ALS Association. If the individual chooses not to do

the challenge, they are supposed to donate one hundred dollars to the ALS Association. If the participant accepts the challenge, they pour ice water over their head, and then they donate to the association.

There are many ways that a

participant can go about completing the challenge; some people just use a bucket, others use big totes and even farm equipment to dump the ice water on their heads. After completing the challenge, the participant chooses others to nominate and the process

begins again. This is one reason why the ice bucket challenge has spread so quickly across the nation.

Another reason that the ice bucket challenge has spread so

rapidly is due to social media sites such as Facebook and Twitter. For weeks people couldn’t scroll through their news feeds without watching a video of someone dumping a bucket of ice on their head.

Senior Natasha Anderson said, “It was nice to see people coming together to support the research

“I think that the ice bucket challenge is a great way for the people that want to

raise awareness about ALS to spread the

word.” -Garrett Uecker

Ice Bucket Challenge raises awarenessBy: Carrie Ahrens

of such a terrible disease, and was funny getting to watch everyone dump ice water on themselves.”

Despite the influx of these videos on social media, it was discovered that many people were doing the challenge but were not donating to the ALS Association; some failed to mention ALS at all. While this might seem like a problem, participating in the challenge without donating still helped raise awareness for ALS.

Since July 29, the ALS Association has received $115 million in donations. According to the ALS Association, “The money that has been raised will go towards funding groundbreaking research in laboratories across the

globe, providing vital support and care services through our nationwide network and empowering ALS advocates to encourage their elected officials to support the advance issues important to the ALS community.”

However, some are concerned that their donations are not being appropriately used. “I don’t really think people understood what the money is going for,” said Uecker.

Twenty-seven percent of the money raised is being used for

research. Seven percent is going towards a d m i n i s t ra t i o n , f o u r t e e n percent towards f u n d r a i s i n g , 32 percent towards public and professional education and nineteen percent towards patient and community s e r v i c e s .

Another factor that has stopped some people from donating to this organization is the fact that they use stem cells to further their research. “The ALS Association openly admits

that they donate to the stem cell research,” said Uecker. Carrie Munk, a representative for the ALS Association, released a statement in August addressing the stem cell issue by saying, “We will be leaving no

stone unturned in the quest to discover effective treatments and a cure for Lou Gehrig’s Disease.”

The ALS Association believes that the use of stem cell research has the potential to provide a relief or even a cure for people living with ALS. Barbara Newhouse, President and CEO of The ALS Association recently stated in an interview, “With more people aware and more people engaged in the fight against ALS, we are poised to work collaboratively with not only other ALS organizations, but also with pharmaceutical companies and academia to expedite new treatments

The Sandy Creek Volleyball coaches Levi Gorsuch, Julie Studnicka, and Steph Hoyt participate in the ice bucket challenge.

Our Connections to ALS

My sister’s old babysitter has ALS My Uncle Bob has ALSMy grandpa’s cousin has ALS

My cousin, Brian, passed away five years ago from ALS. He fought the disease for three years and was 28 when he passed.

“The money that is raised will go towards funding groundbreaking

research” -ALS Association

Ice bucket challenge takes over web in hope of raising awareness for ALS

students7

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Sandy Creek - Krista Johnson