Gen Z Resurfaced the Ice Bucket for a New Cause — And It’s Going Viral Again

If you were around the Internet in 2014, you probably remember the ice bucket challenge. You know the drill: people dumping water on themselves, posting it online, and tagging their friends to do the same, all for the cause of raising money for ALS research. What you probably didn’t expect was the ice bucket challenge making a comeback 11 years later, thanks to Gen Z’s passion for mental health — and once again, it’s working.

The ice bucket challenge resurfaced at the University of South Carolina, where students in the Mental Illness Needs Discussion (MIND) club began using it to raise money for Active Minds, a nonprofit organization focused on mobilizing youth and addressing mental health stigma. That was back in March. As of late April, the #SpeakYourMIND hashtag has over 200,000 posts and has garnered support from celebrities like James Charles and the hosts of the Today show, who did it live on-air. To date, the new ice bucket challenge has raised over $340,000 for Active Minds, far surpassing the initial $500 goal set by USC students, per NBC.

And while that’s a major accomplishment, the ice bucket challenge is also helping to raise awareness around mental health and chip away at the stigma that still surrounds it. Because of that, experts believe this kind of movement can make a real difference. “I actually just saw it yesterday on my own social media feed,” Heather Hagen, MS, LMFT, Executive Director of Clinical Outpatient Services at Newport Healthcare tells SheKnows. “I’m personally thrilled. Anything that we can do to call awareness to the mental health struggle is a good thing.”