With so many bucketheads dousing themselves with ice water on Facebook and other social media sites, I wondered whether anyone was actually following through with donations.
The so-called "ice bucket challenge" accidentally became a movement to raise money for research on ALS, also known as Lou Gehrig's Disease or amyotrophic lateral sclerosis. Millions of people have recorded videos of someone dumping ice water on their heads. The general idea advanced in these videos was to challenge a friend or two (or 10) to also dump ice on themselves or pay $100 to the ALS Association. Perhaps recognizing the lack of charity involved in drenching oneself in lieu of a donation, many participants suggested the donation could be reduced to $10 in exchange for the icy deluge.
Not only have the videos gone viral but the act itself is spreading faster than the Andromeda Strain.
Clearly, people have been following through. As of Friday, the ALS Association had received $53.3 million in donations between July 29 and Aug. 21. Last year during the same period, donations totaled $2.2 million. The number of new donors is 1.1 million.
So kudos to those who have donated and will. There's no doubt far more than 1.1 million people participating in the challenge. It seems I've seen that many just on my Facebook page.
Long before buckets of ice water started flying, I often wondered why fundraising for great causes require so much, well, work. Why does it take a putting on a gala or kissing a pig or painting a pig (are you sensing an Arkansas theme here) or playing polo in the mountains to get people to loosen their grips on their purses?
The answer: Because we humans are just weird sometimes, and that's OK. Writing a check might be the easiest thing in the world for some folks, but actually engaging them in an activity can put that giving into context and inspire them to give of their time and money for years to come. There's nothing wrong with combining fun and fundraising.
Events also give people who cannot afford to write a check an opportunity to get involved and make a difference through service.
In all honesty, I prefer the real-world, face-to-face events to this online fundraising that has so many of us staring at our phones as opposed to engaging with our neighbors. But does that make the social media philanthropy any less helpful? Not in the least.
As with any social phenomenon, the ice bucket challenge has inspired critics. Slate's Will Oremus recently offered a critique suggesting people just give money and forget the chilly downpour. One critic used an image of a small child, ostensibly in an impoverished country where water is hard to come by, with an overlay saying "Let me get this straight: You waste clean water as a challenge, in order to avoid raising money for charity."
To which I say, blah, blah, blah. Every popular social trend eventually grabs the attention of the counterculture, which predictably comes up with its reasons that the masses are acting like idiots. And sometimes we are, but who can really gripe about a bit of harmless fun that helps? Well, people can, but we don't have to listen to them.
My two boys took on the ice bucket challenge late last week and passed the challenge on to their friends. For them, it was all about the opportunity to get ice dumped on their heads. Strange, yes, but why not?
We'll make sure the money goes to the ALS research that gave some meaning to this fun, stupid, outlandish behavior. Something so harmless that generates $50 million-plus for a good cause doesn't really deserve to, well, have cold water thrown on it.
So, all you icemen and women out there who have recorded your challenges, make sure those donations go where they're supposed to go. Visit www.als-arkansas.org to make a donation to the Arkansas chapter, based in Rogers.
Whether online or face to face, I'm glad there are people willing to give in whatever way they can manage.
GREG HARTON IS OPINION PAGE EDITOR FOR NWA MEDIA.
Commentary on 08/25/2014