Why I won't be doing the ALS Ice Bucket Challenge
Lots of high profile celebrities have done it. Lots of Z-list celebrities have done it. Lots of my friends have done it. I won't be doing it, and here's why;Many people doing the ALS challenge are only doing it because it's fashionable, or because it will garner them attention among their peers.
Most of the people doing the challenge are not donating anythingthey are just taking part in the social media craze.
Less than a third of the money paid to the ALS Association goes towards researchyou can see the official numbers here, and further discussion about it here.
The donations are not going to make much of a dent in the ALS research black hole. In 2013 a decade long development effort that cost $75 million was cancelledbecause it was unsuccessful. The real answer is National Institutes of Health funding. At present, ALS receives $30 million per year from the national $30,000 million health research budget (yes, you read that rightALS receives 0.1% of the government backed health research budget in the US). You can read more aboutthathere.
ALS (like most drug companies)use live animals for initial trials.
I will choose which charities I donate to. I will not be pushed into it by peer pressure, or to take part in some social mediaattention seekingcompetition.