In recent months, social networking sites have been bombarded with videos of celebrities and the general publicthrowing buckets of ice water on themselvesin the name of ALS (Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis) research.After an icy soaking, participants make a small online donation and nominate three people to undertake the challenge within 24 hours.
The perfect mix of social media, celebrity engagement and philanthropy – the Ice Bucket Challenge has becomea viral phenomenon. According to Facebook, between the period of June 1 and August 17, over 28 million people commented on, or liked a post about the challengeand 2.4 million videos were shared across the site.
To date, the campaign has secured donations of over $31.5 million forALS, compared to $1.9 million over the same time period last year.