29-04-2025
Reimagined Ice Bucket Challenge comes to the Maritimes
It might not be 2014, but the Ice Bucket Challenge is sweeping social media for a new cause.
Reimagined by Wade Jefferson at the University of South Carolina, the Speak Your MIND Ice Bucket Challenge is focusing on mental health this time around, and it's making waves north of the border.
'We saw it as an opportunity and a platform to bring more awareness to mental health issues,' said Lana McMullen, director of programs and services at the Zatzman Sportsplex in Dartmouth, N.S.
The Sportsplex was nominated by Cole Harbour Place and accepted the challenge with open arms.
'A wider audience again is always a good thing. I thought we would accept the challenge and take the opportunity to use that platform and get that message out there to hopefully reach more people,' McMullen said.
The challenge is not associated with any mental health organizations in Canada, but still seeks to spread awareness.
'Raising awareness leads to action,' said Neicole Killawee, communications manager for the Mental Health Foundation of Nova Scotia. 'And what we really want is more and more people to get comfortable with the idea that it's okay to not be okay, and that help is available.'
'While CMHA Nova Scotia is not formally involved in the initiative, we're encouraged to see Nova Scotians taking part and choosing to donate to CMHA,' said Johanne Thompson, executive director of the Canadian Mental Health Association's Nova Scotia division. 'We've also heard that several of our counterparts across the country and in Atlantic Canada have received support through this renewed effort — a clear sign of how deeply this cause resonates with communities in our region."
'We just took the opportunity to get that message to people,' McMullen said. 'If people want to make donations, absolutely. There are plenty of foundations that will graciously accept donations. But it was more about getting the message out that says, these are the people that can help you.
'A lot of people come through these doors knowing that the benefits that they get from participating in activities in this facility are beneficial to them and to their mental health, and it's detrimental to their mental health when they don't. If we can get a message out there to somebody having a mental health crisis, these are the numbers to call if you need help.'
