Lifestyle | 30 Sep 2014 | By Sun International
The Table Bay Hotel’s Ice Bucket Challenge – a Wake-up Call for ALS
It was a typical late-winter's day in Cape Town when the Table Bay Hotel executive committee lined up in front of the famous gold statue of Oscar the Seal at the hotel's entrance, to take part in what has become the internet phenomenon of 2014: the ALS Ice Bucket Challenge.
Among the brave participants, Shaun Tregoning (Hotel Manager), Siboniso Dlamini (Financial Manager) and Candice Sinclair (HR Manager) made their statements before calling on Liesl Samuels from GrandWest Casino, all Financial Managers within Sun International, and all Sun International management teams as well as all 5-star Cape Town hotels to accept the challenge. Then, it was wet-time, and within seconds, everyone had been doused with a bucket of ice water and reacted accordingly, mostly squealing and laughing. Watch it here.
But what is the ice bucket challenge, and how does it help with ALS research?
The challenge
The Ice Bucket Challenge, sometimes called the ALS Ice Bucket Challenge, is an activity involving dumping a bucket of ice water on someone's head to promote awareness of the disease amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) and encourage donations to research.
The challenge calls on nominated participants to be filmed having a bucket of ice water poured on their heads and then nominating others to do the same. A common stipulation is that nominated participants have 24 hours to comply with the challenge and make a charitable financial donation towards ALS research.
The disease
Imagine getting doused with a bucket of ice water, and being able to feel it, but not being able to react to it? This is the tragedy of ALS. While sensory nerves are generally unaffected by the disease (meaning sufferers can still feel, hear, smell, see and taste), rapid muscle degeneration causes the inability to control all voluntary movement.
Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), also known as Lou Gehrig's disease, is a neurodegenerative disorder. The term motor neurone disease (MND) is sometimes used interchangeably with ALS, while others use it to refer to a group of similar conditions that include ALS.
Characterised by progressive muscle weakness due to the degeneration of the upper and lower motor neurons, ALS results in difficulty speaking, swallowing, and breathing. There is to date no known cure.
The challenge at Table Bay Hotel
Lisa Sinclair, HR Manager at the Table Bay Hotel recognised the opportunity for the popular Cape Town accommodation to raise awareness of and make a contribution to ALS research by taking part in the ice bucket challenge.
In South Africa, ALS (or MND) has been on everyone's lips ever since local rugby hero Joost Van Der Westhuizen (who has previously visited the Cape Town hotel) was diagnosed with the degenerative disease in May 2011.
The ALS ice bucket challenge achieved viral status online during August this year, and has raised as much as $100 million for the ALS Association, compared to $2.5 million raised over the same period in 2013.
Despite controversies surrounding the initiative, when last were so many people talking about ALS at once? With celebrities such as Will Smith, Beyoncé, Oprah Winfrey and David Beckham getting "bucketed", the challenge has flooded the internet, and seeped into the consciousness of the everyday person.
The Table Bay Hotel in Cape Town has donated R25 000.00 to the Motor Neurone Disease / ALS Association of South Africa and is proud to be a part of this initiative.