Ice Bucket Challenge becomes biggest social media craze of 2014
It has been confirmed that the Ice Bucket Challenge is the most popular social media craze this year, surpassing No Make-Up Seflies.
LIKECHARITY, the mobile fundraising company behind the Ice Bucket Challenge, released figures showing more than half a million Irish people have donated to the Irish Motor Neuron Disease Association via text.
That compares to the 259,000 make-up free ladies who donated more than €1m back in March.
Texts began flooding in for the Irish Motor Neuron Disease Association last week and donations saw a huge spike two weekends ago, with more than €200,000 being donated on Sunday, August 24 alone, and have continued to climb since.
John Kyne, COO of LIKECHARITY, said: "We noticed the trend beginning to grow in New Zealand a few months back.
"Knowing Irish people are always quick to help a good cause, and have a bit of craic doing so, we battened down the hatches in preparation. But once again the Irish people have gone above and beyond, eclipsing all other viral campaigns by miles."
Aisling Farrell, Chief Executive of the IMNDA, said: "IMNDA could never have imagined the public response that we have received through the MND Ice Bucket Challenge.
"We are overwhelmed with the support the Irish public have shown us and our MND community, their generosity has touched people with MND’s lives, made them smile though they are living with this terrible illness and provided much needed funds to continue services they desperately require."
The Ice Bucket Challenge marks the third viral campaign for Dublin-based LIKECHARITY, who provide their text donation service free of charge to Irish charities.
Including this recent surge, LIKECHARITY have raised close to €4m for the Irish charity sector since their creation in January 2013.
