Bucket Challenge of Cause

Have you been nominated to do the ice bucket challenge? Do you wonder the challenge worth doing for? Do you know the mystery behind those buckets?

It was just a simple challenge in your eyes but deep inside the buckets were a helping hand, social awareness and worthwhile service to others.

I don’t mind the viral challenge in social media at first because I didn’t know the cause of doing it. But when I come to realize, I was already amazed on how people do some initiatives to address public awareness and to help others financially in their fight against the disease.

The Ice Bucket Challenge is an activity involving dumping a bucket of ice water on someone's head to promote awareness of the diseases such as amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS)  in the United States of America and Motor Neurone Disease in United Kingdom. The challenge encourages nominated participants to be filmed having a bucket of ice water poured on their heads and then nominating others to do the same. A common stipulation is that nominated participants have 24 hours to comply or forfeit by way of a charitable financial donation. The participant is expected to donate $10 if they have poured the ice water over their head or donate $100 if they have not.

The origins of the idea of dumping cold water on one's head to raise money for charity are unclear and have been attributed to multiple sources. The most commonly accepted origin credits Pete Frates, a Bostonian who was diagnosed with ALS in March 2012. One version took place in Salem, Indiana as early as May 15, 2014, involved dousing participants with cold water and then donating to a charity. Meanwhile, the National Fallen Fire Fighters Foundation popularized the "Cold Water Challenge" in early 2014 to raise funds as an unsanctioned spin-off of the polar plunge most widely used by Special Olympics as a fundraiser.

Golfer Chris Kennedy was the first to focus the freezing fundraiser on ALS research. He challenged his cousin Jeanette Senerchia of Pelham, New York, whose husband, Anthony, had ALS for 11 years. Kennedy was the first to focus the freezing fundraiser on ALS research. Also Former Boston College baseball player Pete Frates, who has ALS, a patient advocate began posting it on social media that has an initial focus of the challenge and strengthened its focus on ALS.

The success of educating the people through the power of media is slowly showing signs as the ALS Association stated that prior to the challenge going viral only half of Americans had heard of the disease, often referred to as "Lou Gehrig's disease", after the famous baseball player Lou Gehrig, who publicly revealed his diagnosis in 1939. But after, the Ice Bucket Challenge went viral on social media, public awareness and charitable donations to ALS charities soared. Hits to the English Wikipedia's article on amyotrophic lateral sclerosis grew from an average of 163,300 views per month to 2.89 million views in August 2014, and similar increases occurred in the Spanish and German Wikipedias. The ALS Association is just one of several ALS-related charities that have benefited from the challenge that unites the world in one cause- proper education and a helping hand.

Many celebrities, government officials and ordinary people did their share of helping. The initiative of helping other people and the challenge to open the passive minds on the other people is a great challenge for us. This ice bucket challenge was a clear manifestation that we can do something to be everything of someone who is in need.

In fact, this ice bucket challenge was the inspiration of the former President of the University of San Jose- Recoletos Supreme Student Council Carl Dave Ang to help his fellow Josenian, Manuel Cedric Rafols Gaspar in raising funds for his kidney transplant and by having his version- the #‎JosenianIceBucketChallenge.

Carl Ang nominated the Josenian family, including the alumni to do the ice bucket challenge by wearing any USJ-R shirt and donate at least 100 pesos. Ang explained to his video post in facebook that if all Josenians currently enrolled and alumni will give at least 100 pesos, he will have enough money for the transplant.

Amidst of its critics on the health conditions of the participants and the issue of wasting the water, I saw the uniqueness and greatness of this challenge that comes out in our hearts.

It is not all about the challenge but it is all about the awareness to help other people as much as we could- that it is not impossible to be big despite of the individuality, that it is not hard to fight when you know that there’s somebody willing to help and that it is not stiff to be a change in the society. This is the challenge of serving!