Ice Bucket Challenge

There's been quite a backlash against this - mostly along the lines of why not just donate?

I do donate. Every month. It's not a huge amount but it is regular, which helps charities plan.

I also donate my time. Every week. Just a few hours in a charity shop, but again, it helps.

And I run and raise money that way - again it's not a lot of money: people quite rightly get tired of being tapped for you to do something you enjoy as a hobby. 5k/10k/even marathon sponsorship is old.

The ice bucket challenge is, given the backlash, probably also old now. But it has raised a LOT more money (and particularly awareness of ALS) than would have been raised simply by someone posting a Facebook status update of "I've given £3 to X,Y or Z charity today & I think you should too". My children have loved participating and I've loved hearing the laughter and squeals from neighbours' gardens and seeing the constant stream of videos of people having fun.

If you don't want to participate, or even donate - don't. But please don't make others who have joined in feel bad for doing a tiny little bit of extra good.