The ALS “Ice Bucket Challenge” has been getting a lot of support, especially among celebrities. The challenge is this: People make a video of themselves dumping a bucket of ice water on their heads and post it on a social media site. They will then challenge friends to do the same within 24 hours, or donate $100 to ALS. Many do both.
What is ALS? Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) is a progressive neurodegenerative disease that affects nerve cells in the brain and the spinal cord. Motor neurons reach from the brain to the spinal cord and from the spinal cord to the muscles throughout the body. The progressive degeneration of the motor neurons in ALS eventually leads to their death. When the motor neurons die, the ability of the brain to initiate and control muscle movement is lost. Sadly, with voluntary muscle action progressively affected, patients in the later stages of the disease may become totally paralyzed.
And, for those who doubt the power of social media then maybe this will change your view. As of Tuesday, August 19, the ALS Association has received $22.9 million in donations compared to $1.9 million during the same time period last year (July 29 to August 19). These donations have come from existing donors and 453,210 new donors to The Association. Social media has definitely made an impact!
We’ve got videos of some celebrity moms who participated. Enjoy!
Jennifer Lopez
Jaime Lynn Spears
Britney Spears
Nancy O’Dell
Julia Louis-Dreyfus
Bethenny Frankel
Kerry Washington
To make a donation to the ALS Association CLICK HERE.
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