The Ice Bucket Challenge
Discussion
TinyCappo said:
Unfortunately in terms of money lost to MND its huge. In the same time the two charities have managed to garner £250,000 and £10,000 respectively. MND has raised less than 5% in comparison. Had Macmillan not jumped on this then Its possible that it could have been far higher. The money almost doesnt matter. If the charity just could have the exposure through this then it would be a massive benefit.
And before anyone says about how well ALS are doing there is no financial link between the ALS association and MND. I hope they will share research.
From what I've read the origin of the ice bucket challenge is New Zealand where people were doing it but with no associated charity. This article on Mashable explains what happened next in the US in terms of linking it to ALS and then it becoming huge http://mashable.com/2014/08/15/ice-bucket-challeng...
However separately it jumped from NZ to the UK, and specifically the deaf community. Charlie Swinborne blogged about it on 11th July http://limpingchicken.com/2014/07/11/the-facebook-... but rather than donate to a hearing loss charity the trend seemed to be for water aid. Personally the first time i saw it was when an ex colleague from Macmillan posted a video on facebook.
In terms of why the backlash, yes they may have been the first UK charity to do something about it but i don't think people see that way, i.e in the US it's for this and in the UK it's for that. Where it has jumped the transatlantic since being tagged to ALS people have naturally gone to the related charity MND.
That aside, I wonder if the timing might have something to do with it as well. In addition to this I've seen three separate Macmillan fundraisers being advertised on my way into work at the moment - 'Shave or Style', 'The Lido Swim' and the classic 'Coffee Morning'. Unlike the ice bucket challenge these have all been planned months in advance and are very much Macmillan's events.
So if you suddenly them also promoting the ice bucket challenge when there is a strong link to another condition, which is comparatively tiny in terms of brand and income, you might feel like they are just dominating the market. Could it have been different at a quieter period? Or perhaps if it was a smaller charity that doesn’t have other big fundraisers..
Its like bad sportsmanship. It leaves a bad taste in your mouth and whilst its difficult to tangibly put across whats been lost or deprived from another charity the momentum gained cannot be transferred.
It's not just MacMillan hijacking the idea and reducing exposure of the cause, when I first saw this icebucket challenge on our local news it was in aid of a terminally ill guy who wanted to fund his bucket list with anything left going to the brain tumour trust. I couldn't believe so many big name celebs were backing it, until I googled it and discovered they were actually supporting a different cause.And before anyone says about how well ALS are doing there is no financial link between the ALS association and MND. I hope they will share research.
From what I've read the origin of the ice bucket challenge is New Zealand where people were doing it but with no associated charity. This article on Mashable explains what happened next in the US in terms of linking it to ALS and then it becoming huge http://mashable.com/2014/08/15/ice-bucket-challeng...
However separately it jumped from NZ to the UK, and specifically the deaf community. Charlie Swinborne blogged about it on 11th July http://limpingchicken.com/2014/07/11/the-facebook-... but rather than donate to a hearing loss charity the trend seemed to be for water aid. Personally the first time i saw it was when an ex colleague from Macmillan posted a video on facebook.
In terms of why the backlash, yes they may have been the first UK charity to do something about it but i don't think people see that way, i.e in the US it's for this and in the UK it's for that. Where it has jumped the transatlantic since being tagged to ALS people have naturally gone to the related charity MND.
That aside, I wonder if the timing might have something to do with it as well. In addition to this I've seen three separate Macmillan fundraisers being advertised on my way into work at the moment - 'Shave or Style', 'The Lido Swim' and the classic 'Coffee Morning'. Unlike the ice bucket challenge these have all been planned months in advance and are very much Macmillan's events.
So if you suddenly them also promoting the ice bucket challenge when there is a strong link to another condition, which is comparatively tiny in terms of brand and income, you might feel like they are just dominating the market. Could it have been different at a quieter period? Or perhaps if it was a smaller charity that doesn’t have other big fundraisers..
Its like bad sportsmanship. It leaves a bad taste in your mouth and whilst its difficult to tangibly put across whats been lost or deprived from another charity the momentum gained cannot be transferred.
Edited by TinyCappo on Thursday 21st August 11:47
All hijacking these challenges does is dilute the message really.
MentalSarcasm said:
In November it'll be 8 years since my grandfather died from Motor Neurone Disease.
In that time cancer treatments have come on leaps and bounds, but MND is still incurable. Most people don't even know what it is. Watching someone die from it is a nightmare, second only to being the person going through it. My grandfather was healthy and active, a perfect example of what a good retirement was. Within a year of diagnosis he had become a shadow of his former self, he struggled to speak and even something as simple as smiling was almost impossible. He was dead after 15 months, which is as long as most MND sufferers get.
If you don't want to take part, then don't, but please go and read up on MND first and see if it's something you think you'd be able to cope with. Don't cover yourself in ice, don't brain yourself with a bucket, but if you've got £1 spare then please think about donating it to the MND Association.
The level of awareness that this has raised has been incredible, for a disease and a charity that has been in the shadows for years it is completely mindblowing. Like others above I'm really angry that Macmillan have hijacked this, they do a lot of good work but frankly they can find their own sodding meme.
If you want more information about the MND Association, which is the main UK charity for this disease, you can check their website - http://www.mndassociation.org/
We lost out step father to mnd he put up a good fight though , was in a hospice for 6 years, but obviously we now have the fear will one of my step brothers carry the gene?In that time cancer treatments have come on leaps and bounds, but MND is still incurable. Most people don't even know what it is. Watching someone die from it is a nightmare, second only to being the person going through it. My grandfather was healthy and active, a perfect example of what a good retirement was. Within a year of diagnosis he had become a shadow of his former self, he struggled to speak and even something as simple as smiling was almost impossible. He was dead after 15 months, which is as long as most MND sufferers get.
If you don't want to take part, then don't, but please go and read up on MND first and see if it's something you think you'd be able to cope with. Don't cover yourself in ice, don't brain yourself with a bucket, but if you've got £1 spare then please think about donating it to the MND Association.
The level of awareness that this has raised has been incredible, for a disease and a charity that has been in the shadows for years it is completely mindblowing. Like others above I'm really angry that Macmillan have hijacked this, they do a lot of good work but frankly they can find their own sodding meme.
If you want more information about the MND Association, which is the main UK charity for this disease, you can check their website - http://www.mndassociation.org/
The thing that pisses me off about the ice challenge is none say why there doing it, what the disease is , a website to learn more.
They just say who nominated them, do it then give there nominations, still i guess there happy with the increase in there page views.
Just think how much extra would of been raised if the bands gave a nights gig takings to the charity or if the sports people auctioned off something really special.
I'll just leave this here for you to have a look at.
It's a bit dusty in my front room right now
http://view.break.com/2749717
It's a bit dusty in my front room right now
http://view.break.com/2749717
Rude-boy said:
clonmult said:
By all accounts the Ice Bucket Challenge was originally started to support cancer charities (ie. what Macmillan are for), not ALS/MND. So the ALS ice bucket challenge is the one doing the hijacking.
But be honest, does it really matter? They're both bringing awareness of major illnesses, and hopefully bringing a fair bit of money into their coffers to allow further research into potential cures or relief for those suffering.
Interesting but not what my 10 minutes on Google was suggesting. But be honest, does it really matter? They're both bringing awareness of major illnesses, and hopefully bringing a fair bit of money into their coffers to allow further research into potential cures or relief for those suffering.
Does it matter? Yes it does actually. Macmillan and many of the big cancer charities earn huge sums ever single year, year in, year out. Most people have only an awareness of MND due to Proff. Hawkins. Sometimes the little guys have a fund raising idea that shoots them to the front of the queue for a few weeks but otherwise they are forgotten. When one of the bigger charities appears to take that fund raising idea and make it theirs it angers me deeply. You're doing alright and will be known to millions, how about letting some other cause have a few pennies for a change?
Personally it wouldn't make a blind bit of difference to where my donations would go - I've always supported cancer research due to having lost family members to it. I wouldn't support macmillan due to questions over their wasteage, but friends have said that macmillan have done a brilliant job in aiding family who were going through chemo. I tend to fund raise for a local charity that offers palliative care for cancer patients and what they're going through really hit me hard.
clonmult said:
A few friends who have had family go through chemotherapy have stated that the feeling of chemo is similar to being doused in ice water. Which helps explains the origin of the ice bucket challenge (ie. not MND).
Sorry but I just don't believe this. 1 POSSIBLE side effect is feeling "cold and shivery". I can't find 1 reference to it feeling like having a bucket of ice water tipped over you. I honestly think you're making this "its related to cancer not MND" thing up.Fair enough if people with experience of chemo come on here and confirm it but I've never heard of it and can't find a reference to it either.
clonmult could be talking about the cold caps that some people use during chemo, to try and prevent/reduce hair loss?
My wife managed two caps during her first chemo session and even though she had a very high pain threshold, she just couldn't handle it - they are chilled down to about -25 degrees and she said the discomfort was just too much and that should would rather be bald than have to endure the caps again.
ETA - She looked flipping great bald!
My wife managed two caps during her first chemo session and even though she had a very high pain threshold, she just couldn't handle it - they are chilled down to about -25 degrees and she said the discomfort was just too much and that should would rather be bald than have to endure the caps again.
ETA - She looked flipping great bald!
Edited by pincher on Friday 22 August 09:12
Flip Martian said:
clonmult said:
A few friends who have had family go through chemotherapy have stated that the feeling of chemo is similar to being doused in ice water. Which helps explains the origin of the ice bucket challenge (ie. not MND).
Sorry but I just don't believe this. 1 POSSIBLE side effect is feeling "cold and shivery". I can't find 1 reference to it feeling like having a bucket of ice water tipped over you. I honestly think you're making this "its related to cancer not MND" thing up.Fair enough if people with experience of chemo come on here and confirm it but I've never heard of it and can't find a reference to it either.
pincher said:
clonmult could be talking about the cold caps that some people use during chemo, to try and prevent/reduce hair loss?
My wife managed two caps during her first chemo session and even though she had a very high pain threshold, she just couldn't handle it - they are chilled down to about -25 degrees and she said the discomfort was just too much and that should would rather be bald than have to endure the caps again.
ETA - She looked flipping great bald!
Interesting, I'd never heard of those. Everyone I know (or who knows someone) went for the bald thing. A friend of my wife's is currently going through it and has lost her hair - and the rest of her family (teenage daughter included - who did it and raised over £1k for charity) shaved theirs in support.My wife managed two caps during her first chemo session and even though she had a very high pain threshold, she just couldn't handle it - they are chilled down to about -25 degrees and she said the discomfort was just too much and that should would rather be bald than have to endure the caps again.
ETA - She looked flipping great bald!
Edited by pincher on Friday 22 August 09:12
pincher said:
I'll just leave this here for you to have a look at.
It's a bit dusty in my front room right now
http://view.break.com/2749717
As a rugby fan, this makes my room a bit dusty too - I remember him as an epic player...It's a bit dusty in my front room right now
http://view.break.com/2749717
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ntQgJXwgIoM
Ian Lancs said:
As a rugby fan, this makes my room a bit dusty too - I remember him as an epic player...
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ntQgJXwgIoM
Brave fella.https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ntQgJXwgIoM
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