The Ice Bucket Challenge Returns 11 Years After Going Viral — What Are the 2025 Rules?

There are several methods through which people nurture their mental health. While some individuals have access to adequate health care and mental health support, others are not so lucky and must instead turn to helpful strategies, though without the oversight from a trained professional.

Regardless, spreading awareness of the mental health concerns that countless people struggle to manage is imperative. In times like these, fun, effective ways to share a message like this can be helpful.

Bucket-based challenges, it seems, are effective tools to spread awareness and go viral. If you haven't yet heard of the 2025 ice bucket challenge, you will definitely want to keep reading to learn why the 2025 iteration is so special and important, and why those in need of mental health support deserve your attention and support.

In the summer of 2014, the first ice bucket challenge to support awareness of Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS) went viral, according to the ALS Association website.

Eleven years later, the #SpeakYourMIND Ice Bucket Challenge of 2025 is following a similar path with the intent to spread awareness of another important cause.

On March 31, the University of South Carolina's Mental Illness Needs Discussion (MIND) Club posted a video to initiate the next viral version of the Ice Bucket Challenge. The rules of the challenge are similar in nature to the 2014 version:

• Participate: Record yourself doing the challenge.
• Nominate Friends: Tag and nominate others.
• Donate: Make a donation.
• Share Your Video: Use the hashtag #SpeakYourMIND and tag @uscmind.
• Learn and Support: Visit the Active Minds website for helpful resources.

According to NBC News, MIND Club founder Wade Jefferson started the club to normalize discussing mental health and make resources more accessible after two friends committed suicide. While some celebrities and influencers have thus far catalyzed support for the challenge, the ALS Association has given its support to this challenge.

Impressively, the 2025 challenge has raised more than $325,000 as of midday April 24, a comparatively enormous sum considering Jefferson's initial goal of raising $500.

According to the club's Instagram post discussing the rules, MIND Club seeks to accomplish several goals via its #SpeakYourMIND Ice Bucket Challenge, including:

• Break the stigma around mental health.
• Support suicide prevention efforts.
• Promote daily mindfulness and open conversations about mental health.
• Raise funds for Active Minds, empowering young adults to advocate for mental health awareness.
• Build a supportive community where everyone feels comfortable speaking openly about mental health.

"Lasting change can only happen when we prioritize mental health," per the Active Minds donation page. "The #SpeakYourMIND Ice Bucket Challenge is a launching point for us all to proudly commit our support to changing how mental health is viewed and prioritized in society and supporting the young people leading this crucial movement. Together, we can equip youth and young adults with the resources, training, and skills they need to advocate for lasting mental health change.