5 Reasons Dumping Ice Water on Yourself is a Good Thing

1.  It is funny. We all love to see our friends and family shriek with icy agony. And for those Debbie Downers who are all “Ugh, just another stupid trend! It’ll be something else next week.” Well, that’s true. There will be another stupid trend next week. But if something positive is trending, I’m all for perpetuating those kinds of trends because it beats the heck out of twerking!

2. It really does raise awareness about donating to the ALS Association. Most of the people who are participating in the ice bucket challenge are also donating. As of Tuesday, The ALS Association has received $22.9 million in donations over the last three weeks from people who took videos of themselves being doused with cold water.  That’s compared to $1.9 million donated during the same time period last year (July 29 to August 19).

http://philadelphia.cbslocal.com/2014/08/19/ice-bucket-challenge-donations-reach-22-9-million-to-als-association/

3. Giving is always a good thing! Let’s face it, we are largely blessed in America. Most of us can sacrifice a few Starbucks runs to give money to meet real needs in our world. Not everybody can give $100 and that is ok. We give what we CAN give and that is more than what that charity or organization had before. It’s a win/win! And for those who are legitimately strapped financially and cannot spare extra cash for ALS or other fundraising efforts can continue to help raise awareness and ultimately money for their community by dumping ice on themselves and nominating others who might be more able to donate. This is productive and valuable!

4. It is an awesome thing to see and encourage whole families to work together to invest in their communities. I have seen children donating out of their piggy banks, taking an ice bath, and then challenging other kids to do the same. This is creating mindfulness in our youth, which will help to produce mindful adults in 10-20 years. This is one the best gifts we can give our world and ourselves.

5. It drives a conversation and hopefully action towards giving in other areas as well. I have seen people post information about how they don’t support ALS research involving embryonic stem cells. I have also seen people post statements about preferring to donate to other charities. Awesome! So, let’s do that! We all have charities and ministries and causes that we are passionate about. I doubt anybody would mind if people dump ice on themselves and instead donate to a cause they are passionate about… and then tell us about it! I saw one friend who donated to ALS AND The Cure Starts Now to benefit those with pediatric brain cancer. That’s how it’s done folks! It doesn’t get much better than that! It would be amazing if non-profits in general can get a major financial boost due to friends and family working together in a fun and creative way to build unity, have fun, invest in our world, and ultimately create a culture in America of giving.

BONUS: There is A LOT of awful, horrific, crappy, heart-wrenching news pumping through our newsfeeds every day right now. We all need to see that, for the most part, we are a people that care about one another and are willing to make sacrifices and even a spectacle of ourselves to serve those who have a need and to encourage and lift them up. I hope the men, women, and children who are living with ALS and are in the trenches with this disease are seeing the Ice Bucket Challenge going viral and are watching the donations climb and feel that people have their back and that we love them and want to support them as best we can.

Drench AND Donate!
http://www.alsa.org/donate/