As a fundraising professional, I take my hat off to the genius minds behind this marketing campaign. This is an amazing example to all the nonprofits out there of how to go viral and get the word out about your mission to the world. I myself was finally challenged by my cousin, David Loper, late last week. I figured it was only a matter of time the challenge made its way to me since this campaign has become more popular than kitten videos. A lot of time was spent pondering which I should do: the ice or the donation, and I finally came to my conclusion this morning. I will be doing neither.
ALS is a terrifying disease, and I wish the Foundation all the luck in the world in finding a cure. But I am conflicted with the waste of natural resources while so many parts of the world are experiencing severe droughts and also cannot bring myself to give money to an organization that continually tortures and murders animals with no result. Instead, I will personally give the $100 to a charity close to my heart and invite everyone to do the same. Happy investing in your community!
Pam Anderson’s response (which I whole-heartedly agree with):
Sorry –
I can’t bring myself to do your Ice bucket challenge.
I enjoy a good dare- It’s always good to bring awareness – in fun, creative ways
I don’t want to take away from that.
but it had me thinking. Digging a bit deeper. I found that we may not be aligned – in our messages. So…
– I thought Instead I’d challenge ALS to stop Animal testing
Recent experiments funded by the ALS Association, mice had holes drilled into their skulls, were inflicted with crippling illnesses, and were forced to run on an inclined treadmill until they collapsed from exhaustion. Monkeys had chemicals injected into their brains and backs and were later killed and dissected.
What is the result of these experiments (other than a lot of suffering)? In the past decade, only about a dozen experimental ALS treatments have moved on to human trials after being shown to alleviate the disease in animals. All but one of these treatments failed in humans—and the one that “passed” offers only marginal benefits to humans who suffer from ALS. This massive failure rate is typical for animal experiments, because even though animals feel pain and suffer like we do, their bodies often react completely differently to drugs and diseases. According to the FDA, 92 out of every 100 drugs that pass animal trials fail during the human clinical trial phase.
Sophisticated non-animal testing methods—including in vitro methods, advanced computer-modeling techniques, and studies with human volunteers, among others—have given us everything from the best life-saving HIV drugs to cloned human skin for burn victims. Trying to cure human diseases by relying on outdated and ineffective animal experiments isn’t only cruel—it’s a grave disservice to people who desperately need cures.
Please, help scientists make real progress toward treating and curing human diseases by visiting HumaneSeal.org to find and support charities that never harm animals and which pour their time and resources into advanced, promising, human-relevant cures.
Jenna Riedi 