Remember the Ice Bucket Challenge? In 2014, people threw buckets of ice water on their hair to raise funds and awareness for Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis ALS (Lou Gehrig’s disease). The challenge took over the internet, raising hundreds of thousands of pounds. Fast forward to now, it has made a comeback but this time it’s all about mental health awareness.
A University of South Carolina (USC) student-run organisation called MIND (Mental Illness Needs Discussion) launched the ‘Speak Your Mind Ice Bucket Challenge’ in March 2025. In a statement posted on Active Mind’s website, Wade Jefferson, a sophomore at USC and the founder of the MIND Club said the campaign inspired by the viral ALS challenge had been “surreal.” He wrote: “We’re proud, grateful and just excited to see how far it’s gone and [will] continue to go.”
Videos of people participating and recreating the challenge are going viral and all for a good cause, to encourage donations to Active Minds. Celebrities have been getting involved in the fun challenge to raise awareness, including NFL players Peyton Manning, Emmanuel Sanders, James Charles and Haley Baylee.
The ALS Association also praised MIND’s efforts publishing a statement on their website saying that they were “thrilled” that the Ice Bucket Challenge was making a comeback and becoming a “new form of activism.”
As reported by Yahoo! News, the ALS Association said: “We applaud efforts to raise awareness for causes like mental health — an issue that also affects the ALS community in profound ways.”
“People living with ALS, their caregivers, and loved ones often face depression, anxiety, grief, and isolation as they navigate a fatal disease that changes every aspect of life,” it continued.
The ALS Association also honoured Pat Quinn, Pete Frates, Anthony Senerchia, all of whom were key figures behind the challenge and also diagnosed with ALS. The post also thanked those who made the ALS Ice Bucket Challenge a “powerful movement.” It said: “Their spirit of collective action continues to inspire us as we work to make ALS liveable and cure it.”
The Ice Bucket Challenge went viral in 2014 on Facebook. It began when, professional golfer Chris Kennedy challenged his cousin, Jeanette Senerchia, to partake in the challenge in honour of her husband, Anthony Senerchua, who had been diagnosed with ALS.
What became a “joke” then gained the attention of their hometown, eventually reaching Pat Quinn, co-founder of the ALS Ice Bucket Challenge, and Pete Frates, a former college baseball player who had been diagnosed with the progressive neurodegenerative disease in 2012. To raise awareness, the inspiring fundraiser raised over £85 million in ALS research, inspiring celebrities and non-celebrities to participate, reaching more than 17 million people.
For those who don’t remember the viral challenge, here’s how it works: you grab a bucket, fill it with cold water and ice cubes, and nominate others to participate while someone throws the bucket on you. The actual point of the Ice Bucket Challenge was to have people choose between getting soaked in freezing water or donating to charity. Instead, once it became viral, people who took the cold plunge also donated.
In March 2025, Wade Jefferson, the founder of MIND (Mental Illness Needs Discussion) from the University of South Carolina, posted a video on Instagram saying that they were launching the “SparkYourMIND Ice Bucket Challenge.”
In the post, they explained that all participants would have to nominate those who could “SpeakYourMIND”, with the donations going towards Active Minds, which is the largest profit in the US dedicated to changing the stigma around mental health in young people and adults.
NBC News revealed that Wade Jefferson funded the MIND club when two of his close friends died by suicide. Originally aiming to raise £372, which is $500, the campaign raised over £142,000. Active Minds has now set a new goal of raising £187,048, which with current conversion rates is $250,000.
Samaritans/Suicide support
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