Why I Disagree With the Ice Bucket Challenge

The ALS ice bucket challenge has been running rampant around social media the past few weeks.  The point of the challenge is to donate ten dollars to ALS Association or other charities (though most chose ALS), and dump a bucket of ice water on yourself.  Then once you are soaking wet, you challenge three other people to do it.  Or you can skip the bucket and donate 100 dollars instead.  Hmmm…

I have some serious issues about the whole challenge.  Let me preface by saying the donation part is not at all what I have an issue with.  On the contrary, that’s part of what I wish was emphasized more.

The point of the challenge seems to me to guilt or even bully people into doing it or face donating 100 dollars.  Oh my!  I don’t want an ice water bucket dumped on me, and I also don’t have a problem donating 100 dollars either, I just don’t know if I have 100 bucks to give at the moment.  The idea that I should feel guilted/bullied into donating is crap.  I donate money when I can, which isn’t as often as I like, but I also don’t need a “challenge” to do it. 

The other point, that I didn’t realize at first but saw someone else mention, is the self congratulatory nature of the ice bucket challenge.  It’s a pat on the back for anyone who does it.  Because you donated a whole ten bucks?  And made a video about it?  I would do the ice bucket challenge, donate 100 bucks, and not post a video.  Because the video and recognition isn’t the point.  The donating money to good causes is the point.

This challenge has raised a lot of money for ALS, and that’s wonderful.  Lou Gehrig’s disease is absolutely terrible, and I cannot imagine what people suffer when living with the disease.  In no way am I belittling the good this money will do to fight a terrible disease.  But do people really need to be challenged to donate money?  Are people that selfish?  Why can't you donate without having been challenged to do it?

I also don’t appreciate the water that is being wasted.  When other countries are struggling to get fresh and uncontaminated water, and here in our first world nation we are just dumping buckets of it out…it really pisses me off.  How many gallons of water have been wasted in this challenge that could have been fresh drinking water for a rural town that has none?  I realize the inherent argument in that it isn’t the same water they would have access to, but it is water from the same earth that we all inhabit.  And in an attempt to do something good, we’re throwing away another good we could give.  Or flaunting the availability of tons of fresh water…

This whole challenge is bringing up the feeling of exactly why I like organizations like Kiva.org.  I donate 25 dollars in a loan (or whatever amount you can afford) to someone who uses the money to fund their project.  Be it fresh water, or education, or what have you that 25 (ish) dollars helps them and they eventually pay you back.  So that same money can go to help someone else.  A donation of even just 25 dollars can help people over and over again.  For people who are tight on finances but want to make a difference, this is an amazing opportunity!

I’m not saying making one time donations are bad, especially not for medical research and assistance.  What I’m saying is more people should donate because it’s a good thing to do and not because you’ve been challenged to do it.  The whole thing just bothers me.  Give because it’s right not because someone challenged you to.

With that being said, tomorrow when I get paid, I’ll be going to either Kiva.org or Water.org to help finance a water project in deference to those who don't have water and in defiance against the water that is being wasted in my opinion.  If anyone challenges me to the ice bucket challenge, I will not take part and I will not donate 100 dollars instead.  One, because I really don’t know if I have that kind of money to throw around anyway, and two, I won’t waste water that we take for granted.  I’m not going to challenge other people to behave differently.  But I will ask that people give to good causes when they can and not when they’ve been issued a challenge.

The Power of 33 Dollars and 26 Cents

Today, I spent 33.26.

I could have spent it on:

A dinner out with a few drinks...

A new season of a TV show on dvd...

A couple albums on iTunes...

Some new clothes I've been itching to get...

A new pair of work shoes...

Put it in my London vacation fund...

Instead of doing any of these things, I spent it on groceries.  Groceries that aren't even for me.  In my driving to and from one of my work locations, I often see the same homeless man on a certain street corner.  He holds a dilapidated cardboard sign, begging for any help people can give him.  And yesterday, driving to work, he was there again.  I don't carry cash, so that option was out.  And I quickly appraised how much food I had and if there was any I could spare.  Unfortunately, I usually pack just what I need.  I don't even have my usual backup granola bar...

Then driving home after work, noticing that I hadn't eaten my apple (nausea from medication), I was really upset.  With myself.  With the way services for the homeless go often ignored.  There are so many people in this world that make more than they need to (I'm looking at you, pro-athletes), but how many of them live on less to help others?  I'm not saying they are solely responsible for saving the disadvantaged.  But it would be nice if more wealthy people thought this way.  JK Rowling lost her billionaire status by giving away a ton of money.  That's beautiful.  Sure, she's still living large, but think about how much she did.

With the 33.26, I bought toiletries (toothbrush, toothpaste, mouthwash, deodorant, shampoo, body wash, shaving cream, razor), a gallon of water, box of cereal, bag of apples, peanut butter, bread, wheat thins, graham crackers, two boxes of granola bars, and a reusable Meijer bag to hold it all.  

And I'm leaving it in my car until I can see him and give it to him.  I don't know his life story.  Alcohol, drugs, lost his home, lost his job: it doesn't matter.  All I know is that he is in need of help.  I'm not looking for praise or accolades for what I did.  All I'm saying is that, I may not be able to change his life.  But 33 dollars and 26 cents can make it better.  If I can spare that, what could we all spare to make the world a better place?

UPDATE: He wasn’t on the corner on the way home.  But I’m planning on going around tomorrow to see if he’s there.  And if after a while I don’t see him, I’m going to drop the stuff off at a local food bank.

UPDATE: I never saw the guy on the street corner again.  I pulled the bread and apples out to eat before they went bad. I had every intention of going to a food bank this week on one of my days off.  Then, it happened Sunday night.  On the way home from Leslie, I saw a girl standing out in the rain.  Her small cardboard sign said, "Struggling. Anything helps. God Bless."  So as soon as I could, I threw my car into park and prepared to run the groceries over to her.  But the light turned green and I had to go, lest people behind me decided car horns were necessary.  I walked over to her and gave her the bag.  She asked what was in it and I said a few of the items.  Unfortunately, the toiletries were male scents but given her situation I'm sure she won't mind.  I cried the whole way home.  And I don't know if it's because I'm off my meds and generally more emotional lately or the situation itself.  I feel like the world is bleeding and instead of giving it proper treatment, we slap a band-aid on it and fix other things that are deemed "more important."  I know I can't change the world by myself, or even that I changed her world.  I'm sometimes just sick of feeling like one of the only people trying.