When will the Ice Bucket Challenge fad pass?

funnily enough, event this thread only refers to Ice Bucket Challenge too.

Funny how they call it the Ice Bucket Challenge too.

https://twitter.com/mndassoc/status/504505180743032832/photo/1

I think money is still being raised!

That’s good.

To be honest I’m struggling to articulate in my own mind – never mind an internet forum – why I feel a little uncomfortable about this. Maybe it’s the fact that there are so many other worthy charities out there and the MNDa are raking in donations orders of magnitude greater than them. As a worldwide community we’re still clearly very happy to donate to charity, yet those charities still have to rely on highly paid executives to come up with successful fund-raising ideas.

What I’d like to see is a viral campaign where the participants can choose which charity to donate to as well as include an explanation of why. That way donations AND awareness are spread more evenly and effectively.

Maybe I should just get on with getting a soaking 😀

As a double cancer survivor I was more than happy to do it and donate. Just because 1 devistating illness screws with your life, don’t for one minute think another can’t do the same down the road. Just because I’ve had cancer doesn’t mean I won’t give to other causes if I feel moved to do so, even if……shock…… theyve not effected me directly (yet).

Many many years ago my wife (not at the time) and I helped raise money for the building of a childrens hospice (I’d already “beaten” cancer twice by then) we did all kinds and probably raised a few hundred pound. We didn’t have kids or know any one with a child that would need such a place. Then, years down the road we where unfortunate enough to need it, I was pretty glad people had got off their arse and done something for a charity they had no need of.

Always makes me laugh when people say I only give to this or that as they are the things that effect me. Thing about something like MND and the likes is that they could rip somebody you love (or you) away from this world at any moment and they don’t care if you’ve battled against something else for years.

It’s turned out to be a clever campaign, through blind luck nothing else. It’s raised awareness of a terrible illness, I spent time with my kids talking about it and it has raised a pile of money. People who claim some moral standing against it because “it’s not their charity” (to me) just look like they are using some dodgy high ground as an excuse not to do it. If you don’t want to do it/donate, that is 100% your choice and nobody should bully you into it! just don’t use the “I’m already so generous” as you excuse.

What I’d like to see is a viral campaign where the participants can choose which charity to donate to as well as include an explanation of why. That way donations AND awareness are spread more evenly and effectively.

Others seem to be the same so choose a different charity, few friends of mine chose a local one instead of MDNA.

Maybe it’s the fact that there are so many other worthy charities out there and the MNDa are raking in donations orders of magnitude greater than them.

True, but this is the first time MND/ALS has had such success – they were one of those worthy but drastically underfunded charities before this campaign

e.g. The ALS Assoc said “As of Monday, August 25, The ALS Association has received $79.7 million in donations compared to $2.5 million during the same time period last year (July 29 to August 25).” 😯

(which is why Macmillan, with an annual donation pool of £187 million, have been heavily criticised for stepping in and trying to grab the action in the UK).

People who claim some moral standing against it because “it’s not their charity” (to me) just look like they are using some dodgy high ground as an excuse not to do it. If you don’t want to do it/donate, that is 100% your choice and nobody should bully you into it! just don’t use the “I’m already so generous” as you excuse.

If people feel they need an additional ‘excuse’ for saying no (apart from ‘I don’t want to’), perhaps that is more indicative of the underlying pressure they feel from others to take part.

Well said johnikgriff.

Always makes me laugh when people say I only give to this or that as they are the things that effect me.

Why? None of us can afford to donate to every charity so we all use some rationale to determine which charities to support. This is as good a reason as any. A charity being thrust onto your Facebook feed is another valid reason.

Oh FFS I’ve just been challenged. I’ve nothing against dowsing myself in freezing cold water, I do that on most MTB rides, I just can’t be arsed with bandwagon jumping viral campaigns where you’re pretty much guilt tripped into following the crowd and accused of being a miserable party pooper if you don’t. And I like to choose when and who I give charity money to, rather than being cajoled into it by people who can’t make independent decisions. Yes, I am a miserable git.

Think I’ll start a p*ss and sh*t bucket challenge in response.

And I like to choose when and who I give charity money to, rather than being cajoled into it by people who can’t make independent decisions

Yes you can.

Think I’ll start a p*ss and sh*t bucket challenge in response.

You have to go first remember.

Nealglover has done it and not donated

I haven’t done it or donated actually, I probably will donate though at some point. Probably won’t do the challenge though.

For anyone worried about other charities losing out because of the ice bucket thing ….

My other half is doing the Great North Run to raise money for Teenage Cancer Trust in memory of her Friend who she lost recently.

It’s a great charity, and they helped her friend so much.

You can read about it here, and donate if you feel like it ?

https://www.justgiving.com/CarolineHarms/

You can read about it here, and donate if you feel like it ?

Bully!

Good luck to your Mrs on Sunday.

I like to choose when and who I give charity money to, rather than being cajoled into it by people who can’t make independent decisions.

So would you have considered giving to MND/ALS charities before this campaign?

I suspect most people would have been fairly unaware of them (as I was).

So would you have considered giving to MND/ALS charities before this campaign?

No. And that probably won’t change. Not because I have any particular problem with those charities, I’m sure they’re very worthy. I’m just a contrary sod who doesn’t like being cajoled to do things by a herd like mentality. And on a more serious point, I have a little bit of a problem in that these sort of charity campaigns are replacing the real solution, which is having a fair and equitable society where people help and support each other out of compassion and a recognition that it’s for the greater good, rather than an ego-boosting ‘look at me aren’t I great’ motivation.

No. And that probably won’t change. Not because I have any particular problem with those charities, I’m sure they’re very worthy. I’m just a contrary sod

Okay, perhaps that was the wrong question. If this campaign had never existed would ALS/MND charities have been on your personal list of charities you were aware of and would consider giving to?

I ask because they weren’t on mine.

an ego-boosting ‘look at me aren’t I great’ motivation.

Oh is that why I did it?

I thought it was because I was a “media whore” or “attention-seeking”.

What a truly awful self-centered person I am. 🙄

Oh is that why I did it?

I’m sure it wasn’t. And it wasn’t meant as a criticism, I was just making a general point that individual charitable donations, and the myriad activities and ‘challenges’ attached to them, seem to have replaced collective responsibility organised and facilitated by a progressive state as the main way of providing support to those unfortunate enough to have illnesses or conditions which they need help with. I know it’s boring, but wouldn’t it be far more effective to have a properly funded health service and welfare state?

wouldn’t it be far more effective to have a properly funded health service and welfare state?

Yep, I agree, couple of answers to that though I suppose.

1) the campaign started in the US where they have a rather different take on welfare and healthcare.

2) but even in the UK healthcare and welfare budgets are pretty tight

3) someone has to pay for research – it isn’t in the interests of private pharmaceutical companies (or nationalised health care) to spend billions researching relatively rare conditions no matter how devastating they may be to individuals.

Not really in keeping with the spirit of things.

My mum died of MND ten years ago. Awareness and funds back then were virtually non existent and this had remained the case right up until this pesky social media explosion.

It doesn’t matter to me that not everyone will do it, nor will they all donate money, nor even that they’ll all take the time to find out what it is – but the fact that SOME people have, has meant that awareness and fundraising has gone through the roof compared to where it was. That to me makes this totally worth it.

While it’s too late for my mum, it’s amazing to think that a cure is at least now a possible thing in the future for all those facing the same fate as her.

someone has to pay for research – it isn’t in the interests of private pharmaceutical companies (or nationalised health care) to spend billions researching relatively rare conditions no matter how devastating they may be to individuals.

This is the crux of it. It’s a somewhat taboo subject, but isn’t it about time we started asking where the line should be drawn in terms of the resources directed towards various diseases and conditons? It seems a ridiculous situation that the deciding factor on which diseases/conditions are targeted for research is whoever can think up the most attractive viral marketing campaign.

Interesting article here.

http://www.iflscience.com/health-and-medicine/infographic-shows-differences-between-diseases-we-donate-and-diseases-kill-us

But the secondary question to that is, where will my donated pound have the most chance of saving a life?

It is so difficult for scientists, let alone lay people, to work out where research/disease prevention money can do the most good.

My best guess is that money spent on malaria prevention in developing countries – bednets/swamp drainage, or tropical disease vaccine development/distribution is probably the most effective in terms of lives saved and suffering alleviated.

River blindness is a good example.

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