What is the #SpeakYourMIND Challenge?
The backstory of the viral USC ice bucket challenge
Youth today face overwhelming pressure from school, social media, and uncertainty about their futures. 50% of us will experience a mental health disorder, and every 40 seconds, someone dies by suicide.
This is why the USC #SpeakYourMIND Challenge was created.
Instructions for the #SpeakYourMIND Challenge
Participate - Record yourself doing the ice bucket challenge after being nominated.
Nominate Friends - Tag and nominate 2-5 people to join in. Get creative and spread awareness!
Donate - Make a donation via our fundraising page. Every dollar supports Active Minds.
Share Your Video - Post your video using the hashtag #SpeakYourMIND and tag @uscmind
Learn & Support - Follow our pages @uscmind @active_minds and visit activeminds.org to learn more.
You have 24 hours after being nominated!
Run by the Mental Illness Needs Discussion (MIND) Club at the University of South Carolina, it aims to raise money for the nonprofit Active Minds.
As of now, they have raised over US$300,000.
Active Minds is an organisation dedicated to mental health awareness and change through youth interaction. Over the past year, they’ve reached and helped 1.8 million people in their various events, campaigns and chapters. Feel free to donate to the cause here.
An interesting fact is that this challenge was adapted from the Ice Bucket Challenge.
The Ice Bucket Challenge was a 2014 fundraiser for ALS (Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis) research.
As quoted by the ALS Society of Canada:
ALS, or amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, is a progressive neurodegenerative disease that affects nerve cells in the brain and spinal cord. There are few effective treatments for ALS and no cure.
It raised over $115 million for ALS research, and figures such as Bill Gates, Taylor Swift, and Oprah participated in the challenge.
One problem that’s frequently been brought up with challenges like these is that many people do the challenge as a stunt, not to raise money. For example, with the ALS Ice Bucket Challenge, most posts didn’t mention the purpose of the charity and treated it as some sort of punishment.
It’s important to spread articles like these to spread awareness, so if you get nominated, feel free to attach the link to this article on your Instagram post!
Whether it’s a friend, classmate, or just someone you know, check in. You never know who might be silently struggling.
Mental health affects us all.
Nominate someone today and make your voice heard.
Support is available:
Free mental health, substance use, and suicide prevention help is available now. Suicide Crisis Helpline is available 24/7 in Canada, for calls and texts, in both English and French.
Talk Suicide (Canada & US): 988
Emergency number (Canada & US): 911
Super informative like always, Jonathan! I love the extensive research you put into this one.
Wow I had no idea it was connected to the ALS challenge! Great article as always :)