TRON Foundation Supports ALS Research in More Ways Than One
ALS is a nerve and muscular disease that affects thousands of people each year. Commonly known as Lou Gehrig’s disease because of the New York Yankee legend who was diagnosed with the disease, ALS has many debilitating and disheartening symptoms including the patient’s eventual inability to speak.
Now, the #VoiceYourLove campaign is raising awareness about ALS while fundraising to support research for a cure, and their efforts are being supported by the crypto community as the TRON Foundation is playing an integral role in the process.
From a technological perspective, the ALS Foundation is using TRON’s blockchain network to track donation distribution to bring a new level of transparency and accountability to the donation process. Upon the project’s completion, the ledger results will be made public so that participants can see how their money was used to further ALS research.
However, TRON isn’t just lending its technology to the effort.
The TRON Foundation, one of the most prominent blockchain protocols for decentralized applications, recently acquired BitTorrent, a popular file and messaging sharing platform, and their extensive user base encouraged TRON founder and BitTorrent CEO, Justin Sun, to participate in the project.
Sun explains, “The TRON and BitTorrent community has over 100 million people, and it’s statistically possible that thousands of you are afflicted with ALS. In your honor, I’m donating $250,000 and urging others in the blockchain industry to voice their love by donating to help find a cure.”
Another crypto institution, Binance, is also participating in the effort through their Binance Charity.
The #VoiceYourLove campaign begins on February 14th, Valentine’s Day, and it encourages people to upload a video or photo to social media that expressed love for someone important to them. Along with a cadre of contributions, Courtney Cox and Renèe Zellweger uploaded videos to support the movement.
ALS has a history of running successful campaigns that draw attention to their cause. Their 2014 “Ice Bucket Challenge,” which became a viral internet sensation, raised $115 million for ALS research, and it led researchers to discover a new gene linked to the disease.
As Brian Frederick, the executive vice president of communications at the ALS Foundation, explains, “Our new #VoiceYourLove campaign, conceived with our partner TRON, is a new awareness and fund-raising drive that combines cool heads and warm hearts.”
With the #VoiceYourLove campaign, participants are encouraged to share their messages on social media, in a less hysterical but more heartfelt rendition of their previous outreach efforts.
As cryptocurrencies and their supporting networks become more popular, it’s evident that they can play a role in supporting the efforts of charitable institutions. For instance, a 2017 survey found that charities could boost giving by 50% if they would be more transparent about the ways that they spend donations. Especially among younger generations, seeing the impact of their contributions is a significant incentive to give.
Both blockchain technology and the usability of digital currencies can support these efforts. The blockchain is renowned for its transparency, something that TRON is applying to the #VoiceYourLove campaign. Moreover, cryptocurrencies are beginning to enter the donation space. In January, BitPay worked with the parent company for Wikipedia to create a platform for accepting donations to the educational website using cryptocurrencies.
It will be difficult to top the popularity of the ALS Association’s previous work, but #VoiceYourLove campaign is just getting started. With the promise of greater transparency, a starter donation from TRON’s CEO, and with the popularity of the ALS movement, it’s possible that this could be another exciting fundraising movement to benefit those afflicted with ALS.
