I want to thank Rico Feliciano for nominating me to the ALS Ice Bucket Challenge, which is officially supported by the ALS Association. A few months ago, I made a Facebook post denouncing raising awareness against breast cancer through posting status like “damn diarrhea”, and that I will instead make a speech in my class that advocates for more research funds for breast cancer. A few months later, this Ice Bucket Challenge draws many criticisms not unlike that about the breast cancer awareness campaign a few months ago. However, here I will argue the two reasons why this campaign is different: 1.) Difference in necessity of awareness campaign. While most people know the existence of breast cancer and its potential lethal consequences (due to its prevalence), many people, myself included, do not (at first) know the existence of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis and its severe consequences. But because of this campaign, it promotes millions of people to educate themselves on this motor neuron disease, and help spread this awareness to millions others. 2.) The actions generated. Awareness matters, but matters a whole lot more if it can generate positive actions from the people. The reason I was so highly critical about the breast cancer awareness campaign a few months earlier is because it generates no positive actions. As of now, the ALS campaign has generated 13.3 million in donations between July 31 and August 17, as compared to the $1.7 million from the same period a year ago (according to New York Times). As an undergraduate researcher myself, I know that funding is the life line of any research. So when I know that this campaign resonates with many around the globe and is able to generate positive actions from the people, I decided to tag along without hesitation. I made a donation to go along with this video, and I hope you can to at: alsa.org/donate/ I put 17 names of the people that I want to nominate (all of them either didn’t get challenged or didn’t accept the challenge as of the time the video is made) into a “magic hat” for three random drawings. Emma, Sarah, and Sydney, you guys are the three lucky “winners” from my magic hat drawing to pass down this challenge. I challenge you all to read up on some information about the disorder of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, and make a donation of any amount to ALS (even a penny counts). If and only if you want, you can pour a bucket of ice water over you to add a little fun to this experience. Good luck! P.S, I did put ice into the water, but it all melt before I pour the water over my head haha
Posted on: Mon, 18 Aug 2014 18:56:46 +0000
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