Since Spring, the Ice Bucket Challenge has raised over 80 million dollars for funding ALS research. Inspired by this success, the Rice Bucket Challenge  has been created by non-profit groups including the  World Mind Network, Adelina Foundation and BatangasVarsitarian.net.  According to Foundation president Reina Timbol, UNESCO estimates that 842 million people around the world suffer from malnutrition.  The Rice Bucket Challenge invites participants to help end world hunger by spreading weird photos of themselves, together with the organization’s poster in the same picture, while also donating to the U.N’s World Food Programme.  Those who do so may have their photos publicized on a website, entered in a contest for strangest entry, and may have their donations to the WFP matched. 

  Timbol points out that despite the admirable success of the Ice Bucket Challenge, there are some obstacles that could hamper further participation.  For one thing, in a world stricken with drought, dumping several gallons of ice water on people might not give the best message about saving this precious resource, especially if repeated millions of times.

 Also, in a small number of cases, there have been seizures reported from the shock of an instant ice bath. On August 24, a Scottish teen died after performing the ice bucket challenge.

The Rice Bucket Challenge attempts to preserve the fun aspect of the Ice Bucket Challenge, by encouraging creativity and silliness in the photos submitted.  But the fact that no one needs to obtain a bucket of ice water, or suffer the unpleasant effects thereof, may increase participation.

 The Rice Bucket Challenge also invites those who wish to submit their photos to the organization’s website, and to be entered in a contest to determine the strangest picture.  Organizers believe that those who contribute should be honored in a permanent way.

 For more information see the website at ricebucketchallenge.net, or write to worldmindnetwork@gmail.com.