“It was a chance to coalesce around something that mattered to people,” Curtis said. “So if we’re able to focus on that, to see people use that energy to speak up about mental health. We know it’s an issue that deeply affects so many, so it’s a pressing crisis that deserves attention, awareness and now financial support, too. “
Since March, the video and revived challenge have gone viral. USC MIND’s video has 1.6 million views on Instagram, and the account has been tagged in thousands of videos of people from across the country pouring frigid water on their heads in honor of mental health awareness.
South Carolina Head Coach Shane Beamer completed the challenge along with former NFL quarterback Peyton Manning and former NFL wide receiver Emmanuel Sanders.
The challenge has participants from South Carolina to Maryland to Denmark. It’s branched off so far from 29201 that some people online are discussing their surprise at finding out that USC in #uscmind stands for the University of South Carolina — not the University of Southern California.
Curtis said it is hard to guess when something will go viral, but he suspects that the challenge became popular because it gave people a chance to involve their friends and family and unite over something they care about.
“I don’t want to speculate to anything other than the cause is important. And I think that’s the message that we drive back to,” Curtis said. “There are tons and tons of causes, again, recognizing the original intention of the challenge and also knowing that we can tie this to an awareness opportunity too. So yeah, any chance that we get to talk about mental health, I think, is an important one.”
USC M.I.N.D’s fundraiser for Active Minds has surpassed its goal of $50,000, collecting more than $52,000 as of April 18. Curtis said the money will go towards supporting Active Minds organizations at colleges across the country and will help the nonprofit provide more traveling speakers and programs like their Send Silence Packing exhibit, which inspires action for suicide prevention.
