My Ice Bucket Challenge (I chose to donate) and Defending the Water Dumpers.

Image via NYT

I have defriended two people on facebook today. People ranting that the ice water bucket challenge is useless and stupid and a waste of water.

You know what? You people are assholes. Not one to point fingers but Breast Cancer gets an ENTIRE month on NFL. Pink gloves, pink shoes...etc. Do you same people complain about all the pink? Brilliant marketing for breast cancer awareness and kudos to Susan G. Komen for creating one of the best funded fights in the medical field.

But there are others of us (like ALS, Alzheimer's, and Autism) that don't have that level of recognition yet. So if a silly viral idea of dumping ice water on our heads sparks some attention what is the big damn deal? Wasting water? Please. We have had a nice wet summer in the south and I've skipped a few showers so that can probably cover South Charlotte.  I haven't even had to dump water on my hydrangeas like I normally do so give up the argument about water. It is ONE bucket.

Annoying? Perhaps to some.....I mean my entire feed is ice bucket challenges. But you know what? It is also full of first day of school pics, newborn babies, wedding montages, vacation snaps.etc.... which I LOVE. Post away people. It is called social media for a reason and I'm so tired of people making fun of everyone else on there. Yes, I am an oversharer. Hide me, unfriend me. But don't you dare publicly shame me or make me feel bad about myself for SHARING on social media. (I could dedicate a whole post to this)

I partially understand the argument of feeling publicly shamed to post a video. PARTIALLY. But without the video this wouldn't have been so viral. Do you want to watch me post a video of me donating? And would ANY of these people have donated had there not been a fun silly video to record? NOPE. It would have been glossed over. I was going to record this whole post in video form but nobody would have finished watching without the ice bucket. The photo I posted of my Mother wearing a funny shirt referencing Alzheimer's has received 212 likes. Of those 212 people I think 7 have donated. You have to get people to actually do something to hold them accountable. It is the sad truth of charity.

My point is that this "silly obnoxious" gimmick has raised millions for ALS. (New York Times Article HERE). 13.3 million has been raised since this began compared to their normal 1.7 they normally receive. That is AMAZING. My main annoyance is I didn't think of it first and now will be racking my brain to think of a way to do this for Alzheimer's.

Snipped from NYT article:
Pete Frates can no longer speak. But in the last two and a half weeks, a
video posted on Facebook by Mr. Frates, a 29-year-old former college
baseball player, has inspired people like Bill Gates, LeBron James, Chris
Christie and Taylor Swift to dump a bucket of ice on their heads and speak
out for his cause.
The “Ice Bucket Challenge” has lit social media on fire, raising both
money and awareness for amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, commonly known
as Lou Gehrig’s disease. About 30,000 Americans now have the disease,
which attacks nerve cells and ultimately leads to total paralysis, though the
mind remains sharp. Life expectancy is typically two to five years from the
time of diagnosis.
The stunt goes like this: People make a video of themselves dumping a
bucket of ice water on their heads, post it on Facebook, Instagram or other
social media sites, and then challenge friends to do the same within 24
hours or donate $100 to ALS. (Many do both.)
People have shared more than 1.2 million videos on Facebook between
June 1 and Aug. 13 and mentioned the phenomenon more than 2.2 million
times on Twitter since July 29, according to those sites. Donations to the
ALS Association have spiked. As of Sunday, the association said it had
received $13.3 million in donations since July 29, compared with $1.7
million during the same period last year. I

So today my family will be donating to ALS and ALZ. My husband's family lost his uncle to ALS in 2011 so we will be making a donation to the Steve Gleason foundation (Team Gleason) in Victor Gasser's name.

I will also be donating to the Alzheimer's Association today. Alzheimer's Disease, and the fact that it also has no cure, is my main charity and something that is obviously close to my heart as my Mom was diagnosed in 2011. For a moment think about this:

Steve Gleason has a beautiful and brilliant mind trapped inside a body that is failing him. On the other hand my Mother has a failing mind trapped inside a perfectly capable body. Two horrible diseases, two wonderful loving people, and no cure or prevention for either. Both FATAL.

So leave the ice bucket dumpers alone. Go donate today. Be nice. Stop hating and shaming people.

Love,
Katharine