For those that don't know, where have you been, but the challenge is, you have 24 hours to donate to charity or pay a forfeit of getting a bucketful of cold water poured over your head. I have since been told that some feel you get to pay one amount if you do the challenge but a greater amount if you refuse. So I felt compelled to post on facebook:
#IceBucketChallenge for any wishing to challenge me, I thought I had better list some of the charities my wife and I have already donated to this year from the small amount of money we have:
http://www.macmillan.org.uk/Donate/
https://www.facebook.com/impact.charity.1
http://www.rspb.org.uk/search/index.aspx?q=
http://www.arthritisresearchuk.org/donate
http://www.meresearch.org.uk/support-us/online-donation/
https://www.dogstrust.org.uk/giving/donations/makeadonation/#.U_tIMPldWSo
http://www.britishlegion.org.uk/get-involved/how-to-give
https://www.facebook.com/impact.charity.1
http://www.rspb.org.uk/search/index.aspx?q=
http://www.arthritisresearchuk.org/donate
http://www.meresearch.org.uk/support-us/online-donation/
https://www.dogstrust.org.uk/giving/donations/makeadonation/#.U_tIMPldWSo
http://www.britishlegion.org.uk/get-involved/how-to-give
This list is not exhaustive, but if it is still insufficient for any of you then I will not empty a bucket of water over my head. I donate, I do not need to be TOLD to donate, I care about both people and animals. I would have preferred to keep my charity to myself, but it seems this is necessary.
If you don't like it - go stick your head in a bucket of water!
Better still, stick your hand in your pocket and donate to those who need your help.
So, I got told off for being boring, so I started looking for the "rules" of this challenge and the only place that came up with them was Wikipedia! I then posted this in reply on facebook:
I just don't like the way it seems to be giving people a way out and they are all taking it! It seems to me it's pay up or get drenched, and everyone seems to be getting wet.
You cannot demand that people donate to charity, it has to be a conscious choice. Yes, it may have raised a bit of awareness, but there are other ways.
If I want to advertise my charitable donation, look at the front of my car (there's a plastic poppy), on the lapel of the jacket I will be wearing on 3 September (there's an enamel poppy badge), or my coat/jumper in October/November (I'll be wearing a paper poppy), and I won't be removing the large one until Tuesday the 11th of November.
Looking at the Wikipedia page about this challenge, as I couldn't find any authorised rules of the challenge, "A common stipulation is that nominated people have 24 hours to comply or forfeit by way of a charitable financial donation"
So, to my mind, there is no donating, just dunking!
If the ALS society in the USA had listed the rules and stated "Donate to nominate then donate when you're dunked, or donate and don't get dunked" I would have no problem. The challenge seems to be pay up or get dunked! So, how is this raising money?
I am not anti-charity, as my first facebook post shows, I am not anti-ALS (apart from I would like to see it gone), I am just anti this challenge thing.
People have not stopped caring, but people have become complacent about charity in a time when charity is more important than ever. I would encourage people to give as much as possible, I know money is tight, your choice is as important as to who you give the money to, or which foodbank you want to donate some of your shopping to. Give, give,give!!!!
You cannot demand that people donate to charity, it has to be a conscious choice. Yes, it may have raised a bit of awareness, but there are other ways.
If I want to advertise my charitable donation, look at the front of my car (there's a plastic poppy), on the lapel of the jacket I will be wearing on 3 September (there's an enamel poppy badge), or my coat/jumper in October/November (I'll be wearing a paper poppy), and I won't be removing the large one until Tuesday the 11th of November.
Looking at the Wikipedia page about this challenge, as I couldn't find any authorised rules of the challenge, "A common stipulation is that nominated people have 24 hours to comply or forfeit by way of a charitable financial donation"
So, to my mind, there is no donating, just dunking!
If the ALS society in the USA had listed the rules and stated "Donate to nominate then donate when you're dunked, or donate and don't get dunked" I would have no problem. The challenge seems to be pay up or get dunked! So, how is this raising money?
I am not anti-charity, as my first facebook post shows, I am not anti-ALS (apart from I would like to see it gone), I am just anti this challenge thing.
People have not stopped caring, but people have become complacent about charity in a time when charity is more important than ever. I would encourage people to give as much as possible, I know money is tight, your choice is as important as to who you give the money to, or which foodbank you want to donate some of your shopping to. Give, give,give!!!!
As I said in the title of this piece, I do NOT support the Ice Bucket Challenge, not because it's so successful, but because the charities have not suggested a set of guidelines as to how the challenges should be made. I would like to call on the ALSA to add a set of guidelines to their page. I would like people to point out in a better way (a sign in the video of them getting doused saying I paid £xx, €xx or $xx to challenge A__ B___) as not everyone has the volume on when watching videos on facebook.
I would like to call on a website designer to work out a way that for a charitable donation an email is sent to the challengee who then has 24 hours to challenge someone else. Hang on, that sounds like a chain letter in a way. Still, if that is what it takes...
So far I have seen 3 videos of people hurt doing these challenges (hopefully not seriously), I have heard that one person died after completing the challenge. How much is the death or paralysation of even one person worth?
I have the right to privacy, if I want to donate to charity, that is my right, as is the right to not force that choice on others. Don't call me a "miserable sod" because of my beliefs, don't think I do not wish to give more to charity, because I do and it upsets me that I haven't got enough income to do so.
So, please, if you have any spare money, search your heart, think of things that affect you and your family, find the relevant society and give your spare cash to them!
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