Saturday, December 27, 2014

Top Ten Pearl Jam Moments of 2014, #4

GIVING


Some ridiculous amount of 2014 YouTube traffic was dedicated to something called the ALS Bucket Challenge.  The rules, as best we can remember, were thus: Donate $100 to the Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis Association (that's ALS, commonly known as Lou Gehrig's Disease), then challenge three friends to do the same.  They can either donate, or dump a bucket of ice water over their heads.  Then they challenge three friends.

Each member of Pearl Jam participated in solidarity with their friend, Steve Gleason.  We presume that they all donated money AND took the ice water, so hooray for their dedication ... which, by the way spawned many other donations and buckets from fans.


Over all, Pearl Jam fans were part of a movement that raised over $115 million in donations for ALS research.






Then in September, Eddie Vedder and his wife, Jill, became founding board members of the Epidermolysis Bullosa Research Partnership, the largest non-profit organization dedicated solely to funding research to cure Epidermolysis Bullosa (EB),a group of devastating life-threatening genetic skin disorders impacting children that is characterized by skin blisters and erosions all over the body. 

This fundraising video featuring Eddie got a lot of press for the new organization.




DONATION LINKS: ALSA / EBRP / TEAM GLEASON