Some pro-life leaders are declining to participate in the viral 'ice bucket challenge' to raise money for the ALS Association's efforts to find a cure for Lou Gehrig's disease.
The ALS Association supports the destruction of human embryos for research, they say, and while finding a cure for a horrible disease is honorable, the ends do not justify the means.
'It is noble to combat a deadly disease, and the ice bucket challenge definitely puts a fun spin on philanthropic efforts. That's why it's such a shame that the ALS Association, while striving to save some people, chooses to support research that thrives from experimenting on and killing tiny, innocent human beings,' Lila Rose, president of the pro-life advocacy group Live Action, said in a statement.
For those of you who are not aware of the global phenomenon, the Ice Bucket Challenge has spread in support of ALS awareness and involves people challenging each other to dump refreshing ice water over their heads and posting their videos to Facebook or Twitter. If you do not accept the challenge, the onus is on you to donate $100 to the ALS cause. 'It is noble to combat a deadly disease, and the ice bucket challenge definitely puts a fun spin on philanthropic efforts. That's why it's such a shame that the ALS Association, while striving to save some people, chooses to support research that thrives from experimenting on and killing tiny, innocent human beings,' Lila Rose, president of the pro-life advocacy group Live Action, said in a. The ice bucket challenge, an ALS fundraising campaign, has gone viral, raising millions for ALS charities. Has it also helped to raise awareness of the illness?
The ALS Association would be worthy of support, she continued, if they did not support the destruction of human embryos for scientific research.
'Embryonic stem cell research, which requires the destruction of pre-born people, is inherently unethical and a violation of fundamental human rights, and even materialists must admit that promises of its benefits have failed to deliver. There is no good reason to condone this practice; in fact, all it does is taint the ALS Association, whom I'd otherwise be happy to support,' she said. Earn to die 2watermelon gaming.
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For the same reason, the Catholic Archdiocese of Cincinnati told the principles at its Catholic schools that their students should be discouraged from sending donations to the ALSA if they particpate in the 'ice bucket challenge.'
'We appreciate the compassion that has caused so many people to engage in this,' Dan Andriacco, a spokesperson for the archdiocese, told Cincinnati Enquirer. 'But it's a well established moral principle that a good end is not enough. The means to that ends must be morally licit.'
Amyothrophic lateral sclerosis, also called Lou Gehrig's disease, is a nerve cell disease in the brain and spinal cord. Those with the disease lose control of voluntary muscle movement.
The 'ice bucket challenge' was begun by friends and family of Pete Frates, a former star baseball player for Boston College who suffers from ALS. Those participating in the challenge videotape themselves getting ice water dumped on their head. The videos are posted to social networking sites and are accompanied with a donation pledge for the ALS Association. According to ESPN, in the first two weeks of the challenge, Jul. 29 through Aug. 14, the ALS Association had 146,000 new donors and raised $7.6 million.
Father Michael Duffy also brought attention to the issue of funding research on human embryos in an Aug. 14 Patheos blog post.
The ALS Association website has a page devoted to answering questions about stem cell research. The page notes that there are 'ethical concerns' with conducting research on human embryos but does not condemn the practice.
The Duffy blog post contains a quote from that was on that ALSA website page encouraging embryonic stem cell research. The quote has since been removed from that page, but can still be found in an article on the ALSA website by Lucie Bruijn, Ph.D., ALSA's senior vice president of research and development.
'Adult stem cell research is important and should be done alongside embryonic stem cell research as both will provide valuable insights. Only through exploration of all types of stem cell research will scientists find the most efficient and effective ways to treat diseases,' Bruijn wrote.
The American Life League maintains a page on its website detailing the positions of charities on life issues. On that page it notes a July 2, 2014, email from the ALSA acknowledging that the ALSA funds a study through a specific donor that uses embryonic stem cells.
After noting that donors may specify that their funds not be used for research using human embryos, the email states, 'Under very strict guidelines, the association may fund embryonic stem cell research in the future.'
As an alternative to the ALSA, Duffy suggests giving to The John Paul II Medical Research Institute.
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I have to give props and a tip of the hat to the ALS Ice Bucket challenge. What a great way to have something go viral (thank goodness it was done in the summer and not winter as that would NOT have worked).What can that campaign teach us about member and donor engagement? The ice bucket challenge took something private, support of curing the disease ALS, and made it public. It’s one thing to give to a charity but it’s not something we always publicize. The ALS Ice Bucket challenge made things very public because we saw people dumping ice on their head AND giving to ALS. On top of that you had to challenge specific people to do the same.This was the ultimate public challenge! This is one of the key elements of how things go viral. There is a great book called “Contagious” that uses data to show the various elements regarding how things spread. One of the concepts discussed is the shift in making something go from private to public (private → public).Translation for your YMCA . . exercising and donating are usually private things. How can you make it private→public?Some exercise apps help make private→public by giving people the opportunity to “share” their work out. This can be great but people don’t always want to publicize their activity on their own social media. Think of how you can create opportunity or space to make this public. This can be through social media or even in your own facility.Donor recognition Some YMCAs post banners as a “thank you” for people or organizations that give a certain amount. This is a great way to thank organizations and individuals but what if there was a way to do this for everyone who donates? Recently, I visited a Y where construction paper was put up in ginger bread like figures with the names of members who donated. This was located on a wall in the Y under a “thank you” banner. Some members actually decorated their own if they desired. This is a great example of private→public.Could we also thank donors on our YMCA’s Facebook or Twitter account? Ask a donor how they would like to be recognized. They can opt out of social media if they like but if not, use that as a public space to thank people.Member recognition Think about how people can post their exercise publicly in your Y. Can you put a star next to someone’s name? Can you post a “member of the month” in a public place for people to see? This is great for both the person exercising and for people walking through seeing this public display of congratulations!Recognize volunteers in the same way. Think of how you can post thank you pieces for volunteers via social media or in the building. It’s a great way to thank people and let them know about the volunteer opportunities.Always ask first about recognition. We all know people who would rather not be recognized in public. It’s important to honor that. However, most will welcome the recognition.Engage your staffYour staff – full time and part time- are a wonderful resource for ideas (especially those with a millennial mindset). They can help you find fun ways to make private→public. It might not be as viral as the Ice Bucket Challenge but it can be a sustaining piece of your member and donor engagement strategy.