Right now, thousands of people around the world are taking part in the University of South Carolina’s Mental Illness Needs Discussion club (MIND)’s trend, #SpeakYourMIND Ice Bucket Challenge. In this trend, people record themselves pouring a bucket of ice water over their heads, post it on Instagram, and then they nominate friends to do the challenge next, with a 24 hour timer to complete the challenge. The #SpeakYourMIND Challenge is a fundraiser that works with Active Minds, a young adult mental health advocacy and suicide prevention. By doing this trend, people make donations to support the Active Minds foundation. USC MIND hopes to break the stigma around mental health, support suicide prevention efforts, and promote supportive communities and mindfulness.
This challenge started in 2014, with North Carolina’s ALS Association, a foundation dedicated to finding the cure to ALS, a neurodegenerative disease. $115 million was raised for ALS in 2014, and the resurgence of this trend is finding quick success! Not only has Active Minds reached their original goal of $80,000, they have raised over $91,000 and have a new goal of $100,000.
Many people in LHS have participated in this trend, and it has become extremely popular in our community.
When reflecting on the challenge, people talked about how much they actually enjoyed it, although getting a bucket of water poured on your head is not the most pleasant.
“It was really fun getting to nominate people and getting nominated, and it was very fun.” a student said.
“I got to pour a bucket of ice water over my sister and her friends, so that was probably the best part.” another student added.
“It’s for a good cause, and it’s kinda fun to see other people do it and experience it.”
Overall, this challenge both raises awareness for mental health and brings people together in a fun and exciting way, and it also lets people take risks and do something that they may not normally do. Anyone can take a part in this trend, and everyone has a chance to raise awareness! When a person gets nominated, there’s an obligation to participate in the challenge, and that’s why the #SpeakYourMind challenge has become so successful recently, in a time where social media is a big part of most of our lives. Have you been nominated?