MND Scotland’s ‘A Dip a Day in May’ challenge is back! As supporters take the daily plunge, and a ‘wave’ of new participants join in for the original Ice Bucket Challenge – this time with a focus on mental health – we want to reflect on why the challenge was started in the first place. 

Ice Bucket Challenge – 2014 

The Ice Bucket Challenge was started and promoted by Pete Frates, Pat Quinn and Anthony Senerchia in the summer of 2014, to help raise money and spread awareness of MND. The men were aged between 27 and 32 when they were diagnosed with MND. 

In the summer of 2014, people all over the world started doing the ALS Ice Bucket Challenge which involved people pouring ice-cold water over themselves and nominating friends, family, and colleagues to do the same. This challenge went viral quickly on social media, with many people taking part, including politicians and celebrities.  

The Ice Bucket Challenge raised a huge amount of awareness and funding for the disease called Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS), a type of motor neuron disease (MND). ALS is the most common form of MND, making up 60-80% of MND cases.  

£500,000 was raised for MND Scotland alone!  

Find out more about our 2014 Ice Bucket Challenge here. 

Major Results 

Thanks to the awareness and contributions made in 2014 by the Ice Bucket Challenge, MND Scotland was able to continue supporting people affected by MND across Scotland. The charity offers a range of support services, from wellbeing support and advocacy services to financial support and accessible holidays. A full list of the support services that MND Scotland offers for people living with MND and people affected by MND can be found on our website.  

We have also been able to provide funding to research projects looking at understanding MND, treatment discovery, and care analysis & guidelines. Funding MND research has led to several publications, and continues to help with understanding the disease and improving care.  

The increased awareness and support after the 2014 Ice Bucket Challenge allowed MND Scotland to commit £1.5 million to invest in the MND-SMART clinical trial from 2018. 

MND-SMART is currently the largest-ever MND clinical trial in the UK. This trial aims to test multiple new potential treatment options. It is also adaptive, meaning the trial will change depending on the results, and has an increased ability to add newly suggested drugs. This trial design allows for quicker testing of effective MND treatments and allows for trial participants to have a greater chance to be on a treatment. Find out more about MND-SMART here. 

In 2023, it was announced that a further £2 million funding would be donated by MND Scotland to the MND-SMART clinical trial over the course of five years.  

2024 & 2025 

In 2024, MND Scotland shared stories about how the money raised from the Ice Bucket Challenge helped people living with and affected by MND – supporting a range of activities to remember the viral trend. A ‘Dip a Day in May’ was a daily dose of cold-water dips, showers and ice bucket challenges, and managed to raise over £19000 towards our goals. 

Find out more about our 10th Anniversary Ice Bucket Challenge here and on our JustGiving Page. 

And now again, a year later, we have brought back the ‘A Dip a Day in May’ challenge to bring the attention back to the original ALS Ice Bucket Challenge and continue awareness and donations that provide essential funding for MND care and research.  

Take part and donate to MND Scotland’s Dip A Day in May challenge to help support our vision of a world without motor neuron disease. More information about the 2025 Dip a Day in May be found here.