What was the original Ice Bucket Challenge for? The ALS Foundation comments on the resurfaced viral trend

A blast from the past, the Ice Bucket Challenge, seems to be back. The ALS Foundation, a non-profit organisation that funds Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis research, flooded their Instagram with videos and reels of the challenge. As per Dexerto, the challenge first made rounds on social media platforms in 2014.

To participate in the challenge, one needs to pour a bucket of chilled ice water over their head. The money from the challenge would then go to the ALS Foundation.

The purpose of the ice bucket challenge was to record oneself being covered in chilled water with ice cubes. This was done to make more people aware of the disease. On April 1, 2025, the foundation shared a post about the bucket mascot, writing:

"Please meet Buckets, our new mascot! Once a humble bucket sitting in a dusty garage, Buckets found purpose starting in the summer of 2014. That’s when the ALS Ice Bucket Challenge went viral and awoke the world to a fatal disease that urgently needs a cure."

The post went on:

"Since then, Buckets has inspired millions to get soaked for ALS. Buckets may be cute, but they’re relentless. They’ve got a heart full of hope and a plan to make ALS livable and cure it. Don’t ghost your donation. Buckets is watching."

On April 20, 2025, NBC News published a story mentioning the return of the challenge with an emphasis on mental health. The foundation reshared the post, stressing the need to focus on mental health since it also affects people with Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis.

How did the Ice Bucket Challenge resurface?

University of South Carolina students gave a new touch to the challenge, shifting the focus to mental health issues. The donations went over $100,000, and sportsmen like Emmanuel Sanders have also participated in the challenge. Brett Curtis, director of Active Minds, the community for which funds are being raised through the ice bucket challenge, said:

"I think fundraising professionals and nonprofits and causes have sat around tables for years trying to say, ‘What’s going to be our ice bucket challenge.’ I do think there’s a little irony in that it is just the ice bucket challenge again, this time to talk about mental health."

Cutis explained that raising donations had never been their main goal. The real purpose was to support a group of students, which had always been at the heart of their mission. He expressed how happy he felt to see the effort continue and hoped it would last a long time.

According to Dexerto, one TikTok user shared that it was difficult to watch the USC ice bucket trend go viral without people recognizing its original purpose, which had been to raise awareness for ALS.

Another person on Instagram mentioned how upsetting it was to see the new version of the challenge gain attention while ignoring its roots. They talked about losing their mother to ALS after watching her suffer for two years, and said the trend, especially when used as a joke, seemed to lose the message about mental health awareness.

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