Members of the Centretown United Church doused themselves with buckets of iced water recently to show their support for a fellow congregant dealing with ALS.
Eighteen members of the church took part in the ALS Ice Bucket Challenge in support of Pauline Barnes, who was only recently diagnosed with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), otherwise known as Lou Gehrig’s disease.
According to ALS Canada, the neurodegenerative disease affects more than 2,500 people over 18 in Canada.
ALS progressively weakens motor neurons, which allow the brain to communicate with the muscles. The early symptoms of ALS are muscle weakness involving the arms, legs, speech, swallowing and breathing. Eventually, the brain can no longer control muscle movement and patients may become totally paralyzed.
Nancy Desjardins, a life-long congregant, says she and her fellow parishioners wanted to celebrate the church’s sixth anniversary by having fun while also supporting a cause that hit close to home.
The global Ice Bucket Challenge phenomenon took over social media screens this summer as people around the world participated in the highly successful fundraiser for ALS research. According to the U.S.-based ALS Association, it has raised more than $115 million worldwide.
The viral movement has challenged millions to film themselves dumping a bucket (or more) of iced water over their heads, before nominating others to undertake the same challenge. They then share videos of their participation via Facebook, Instagram and other social media. Those who chicken out of the challenge, have to donate to ALS research, although many participants donate in support anyway.
Rev. David Sherwin says the Bank Street church has been anticipating the event for weeks.
Sherwin says Barnes was only diagnosed this spring, but her ALS has progressed to the point where she had to give up her job as an elementary school teacher and move into a nursing home.
“A year ago, she was driving, living in her own home and coming to church every Sunday, and now she’s not able to do that,” Sherwin says. “Having her here today was really powerful. To be witness to what the congregation is doing – that was wonderful.”
Sherwin and Desjardins both volunteered to get soaked. Through donations, the church raised over $600, which will go to ALS Canada.
“Doing it as a group meant that the congregation as a whole was involved in raising money for research to combat ALS,” Sherwin says. “I think that when we work together as a group, we can do a lot more than any of us can do as individuals.”
Alex Sévigny, director of McMaster University’s masters of communications management program, described the Ice Bucket Challenge as a true “awareness-raising success.
“It has allowed people to participate in helping raise money for a terrible, debilitating disease in a joyful fashion,” he says.
Sévigny says that it’s brought ALS into the minds of a lot of people who probably hadn’t given it a thought before.
Centretown United Church has had a long history of being active in the community.
Sherwin says the church helps run Centre 507, a homeless drop-in centre, and Centretown Emergency Food Cupboard, the local food bank — both of which are run out of the church building.
Sherwin says the ALS fundraiser has been a great community-building exercise.
“The challenge is out there now to other churches across the city to do the same thing,” he says.
Desjardins was the one who brought the idea of doing the challenge to the church.
“It’s unbelievable the money that’s been raised by one person making a silly idea,” she says. “When I went to the congregation, people thought this was just a silly idea.”
According to ALS Canada, it has raised almost $15 million through the Ice Bucket Challenge in this country alone. It announced the money raised through the challenge would be going to ALS research, as well as to Canadian families who’ve been affected by the debilitating disease.
Pointing to those facts, Desjardins said: “So really, how silly is it?”