By now, the latest craze taking the internet by storm surely needs no introduction, but here it is anyway: the quirky yet bone-chilling challenge began as a fundraising campaign to create awareness for ALS, sometimes known as Lou Gehrig’s disease. The idea is to pour a bucket of ice-cold water over your head and challenge other people to keep the message going. The stipulations say that if you refuse the challenge, you have to donate $100 to the ALS Association, an organization that seeks to research treatments or potential cures for ALS, in addition to raising the public’s awareness of the disease.
In our case, we’ve put together this brief video of StorageMart CEO Mike Burnam accepting the Ice Bucket Challenge. Admittedly, we went a little overboard by dumping four buckets on him, but we’ve never been a group to aim for the bare minimum. It is in that same vein, then, that Mike announced that StorageMart would be donating a sum of $500 to the ALS Association.
What is ALS?
ALS is a bitter and currently-incurable disease of the nervous system. Its impact hits uncomfortably close to home for Mike Burnam, whose childhood friend John battled with ALS before passing away about ten years ago. Mike decided to do the Ice Bucket Challenge to honor his friend’s memory, raise awareness, and encourage further donations to the ALS Association.
Mike named the Sparefoot team, and Dave Hester and Laura Dotson of A&E’s Storage Wars to accept the Ice Bucket Challenge and match or beat his donation.
The ALS Association announced an increase of $21 million in donations since the end of July compared to last year. This phenomenal amount is no doubt aided by celebrity Ice Bucket Challenge videos posted on YouTube or Instagram. Everyone from Chris Pratt and Dwayne Johnson to Bill Gates and Oprah has joined in on the chilly fundraiser.
What do you think? Have you accepted the Ice Bucket Challenge? Follow this link to make a donation to the ALS Association yourself, and let us hear your thoughts in the comments section below!