2014 was a little erratic in terms of climate changes. The winter was very warm and the summer had frequent downpours which made every day a weather surprise. These caprices of Mother Nature unfortunately affected the rubber duck race and it was delayed for a week because of bad weather. Going there the following week we were met by discouraging news – the event would happen but without the actual race, because the river levels were too high to control the little yellow rubber friends. Utterly disappointing.

The organizers of the charity week still made their best to turn the event into an entertaining afternoon for all who came and I have to say they did a pretty good job at that, considering the main event was stripped away. The sun was still shining and happy people were still arriving with their families so why not make the best of it, right? And this is exactly what we did! The sponsors had provided the kids with a huge inflatable castle and there were tables for arts&crafts where people from all ages were creating and decorating post cards for charity. There was a cheerful atmosphere, children and pets running around, parents trying to keep up with their toddlers and lots of laughs.

Even though the rubber ducks did not make their annual river swim, they were still invited to the party too. Anyone could purchase one and they got them on spot. Each duck came with its own race number and those numbers were later entered in a big raffle. I am a strong believer of positive attitude and how it can affect all your ventures and bring them to a positive result. Well, my believes were contagious and the draw was very favorable for our team. We managed to snatch a few gift bags as Lady Luck was firmly resting on our shoulders.

At the end of the day, race or no race, we all had some fun, the cause was supported and the children enjoyed every minute of it…even the scary looking man in a bunny suit (imagine the Donnie Darko rabbit in a little brighter mood) was a hit. At least they gave me another year to design the perfectly aerodynamic duck and blow away the competition. Now, who can tell me where to find a fingernail-sized rocket engine and stuff it in a rubber duck? Anyone?

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Unless you’ve been living under a rock, you’ve seen tons of examples of the Ice Bucket Challenge. Love it or hate on it, there are many lessons to be learned from the viral success of the ALS Ice Bucket Challenge.

The ALS Association has declared that they’ve received $115 million in donations since July 29, 2014compared to $2.1 million during the same period last year, plus they’ve made it from 700,000 new donors. That’s an amazing increase in numbers.

But how did this all start?

The origins of the idea of dumping cold water on one’s head to raise money for charity are unclear and have been attributed to multiple sources. According to the ALSA.org the Ice Bucket Challenge formerly existed in the sporting world and has been used for other causes in the past, but it was the people impacted by the disease who really made things go viral for ALS in mid-July.

What is the main idea of the ALS Ice Bucket Challenge?

The challenge with a bucket of ice water is intended to support the Association to fight amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), also known as Lou Gehrig’s disease, a neurodegenerative disease with various causes. It is characterized by muscle spasticity, rapidly progressive weakness due to muscle atrophy, difficulty in speaking (dysarthria), swallowing (dysphagia), and breathing (dyspnea). ALS is the most common of the five motor neuron diseases. It’s wider-spread attention started in the USA and in particular in Boston after the emergence of an Internet video made by former athlete, diagnosed with ALS Pete Frates.

What are the rules?

In August 2014, the challenge went viral online and became commonly known as the “ALS Ice Bucket Challenge”. The participant has to fill a bucket full of ice and water, then state who summoned him to do the challenge and summon three other individuals of his choice to take part in it. He then dumps the bucket of ice and water onto himself.

According to conventional rules whoever receives such a challenge has 24 hours to join the campaign to capture and upload video a to the Internet. In addition to that he should donate $ 10 to the Association to fight ALS. Those who refuse the challenge, must make a donation of $ 100.

Who took the challenge?

Many celebrities, athletes and business moguls have taken part in the challenge, including Steven Spielberg, Mark Zuckerberg, Justin Bieber, Lady Gaga, Britney Spears, Justin Timberlake, Taylor Swift, James Franco, Ben Affleck, Oprah Winfrey among many other well-known personalities and members of the general public. George Bush who was flooded with a bucket of cold water by his wife, nominated Bill Clinton. Hundreds of celebrities joined this refreshing procedure and nominated who will be next.

After the Ice Bucket Challenge went viral on social media, public awareness and charitable donations for ALS soared. On August 18, 2014, the ALS Association announced that it had received $15.6 million in donations compared to $1.8 million during the same time period (July 29 to August 18) in the previous year. These donations came from both existing donors and 307,598 new donors to the Association

WebHostFace got challenged, how about you?

On August 22, our very own CEO Valentin Sharlanov and the office crew joined the challenge to raise awareness and help spread the word about the ALS Desease.

Hi, my name is Valentin Sharlanov, the CEO of WebHostFace and these are some of our tech guys. I nominate for the ALS Ice Bucket Challenge my ex employer Tenko Nikolov from SiteGround, Arvand Sabetian from Arvixe, Zak Boca and Dan Ushman from SingleHop. Few years ago when WebHostFace was established, I was inspired and challenged by your knowledge, professionalism and huge success. Now I would like to challenge you back for a noble cause. Guys you have 24 hours and don’t forget to donate as well.

The funny part is that we actually had to do it twice, since I personally failed to shoot the first try.

Is there any end date for the challenge?

Absolutely not. The Ice Bucket Challenge started organically by individuals with the disease. So as long as people all over the worlds keep participating, the challenge will continue.

At the end, I would like to make a note: a lot of people take on this challenge from their friends and forget to remind others who participate to donate. Some of them might not even know why they’re doing it at all – except that their friends did it, probably just for fun and then tagged them in their videos on Facebook .

And while that is still beneficial to the cause, please try to remind others to either read these true stories or go to ALSA.org to donate. Or do both, just like we did. Even if you dump ice on your head and post the video over the Internet!

You can help by donating here: http://www.alsa.org/fight-als/ice-bucket-challenge.html

Leave a comment below to let us know about your experience with the ALS Ice Bucket Challenge. So, how about you? Have you been challenged? Did you donate, do the bucket, or both?

The post What have we learnt from the ALS Ice Bucket Challenge appeared first on WebHostFace Hosting & Design Blog.

The trees may be shedding their leaves, but we still sigh with yearnings for the recently lost summer.  The busy bees in WebHostFace didn’t need more than a few shy rays of light to bright the sky and decided it’s time to go out. Luckily, it was also the annual Charity Week here, so we managed to mix the fun moments outside with a little help for the noble causes that were supported. And believe me, there were many – from repairs in children homes to equipment for an eye surgery clinic, each of those causes were inspiring and significant and this put us right into that mood easily.

We chose an event, where we thought we would meet the most interesting people and have the best time. And there was one just for us – Rubber Duck River Race. We were all kids not so long ago so it was the perfect occasion to have a few more moments from that precious childhood. As it later turned out we could not have made a better choice – nice weather, lots of playful children running around like in a pinball machine and their parents trying to keep up – it was a great set up for a sunny afternoon in the end of dismal September. We quickly got into the spirit and soon had our hands around our proud WebHostFace Race Horse… pardon, Race Duck.

There were some delays and technical issues but no one seemed to care – everyone was here with friends and family and they were just enjoying themselves. It was really nice seeing all those happy faces and contagious children smiles and before we knew it, the ducks were ready to go!

Two huge cranes were the platform for the take-off of the rubber flock and after the siren sounded they were all flying (well not exactly flying, more like falling) under the bridge. The river soon turned yellow and the race became more and more intense – change of leaders, emergency pit stops (in the nearby bushes),  few rubber soldiers even drowned…or at least it looked like it The encouraging shouts made the ducks show us their best and indeed they delivered – some of our beaked friends were so determined that they broke the safety net at the finish line and continued their sail in the unknown. We saluted in their honor and bid them farewell.

After a few hours in the soft autumn sun and over 500 ducks successfully getting to their destination, the children seemed tired (boy, was that a relief for their parents).

We left the event with a wonderful mood and  promised ourselves that this experience would be the first of many…

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