Celebrities have answered the call to participate in the 22 Pushup Challenge and raise awareness for PTSD and other mental conditions afflicting veterans.
Actor Chris Pratt responded Friday to a fan’s request on Twitter to participate, posting a video of him and his wife, actress Anna Faris, doing pushups. He forwarded the challenge to actors Vincent D’Onofrio, Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson and John Krasinski.
All three responded, posting videos of their #22PushupChallenge and called on other celebrities to keep the momentum going. Others, including actor/comedian Kevin Hart and Captain America star Chris Evans, have answered with their own online videos.
The initiative was started as #22Pushups by the Dallas-based veterans group 22Kill. The group stated on its website that the goal was to get 22 million pushups, “to honor those who serve and to raise awareness for veteran suicide prevention through education and empowerment.”
It has been adopted by other advocacy organizations in the U.S., Canada and England. The number 22 is the daily average of U.S. combat veterans who commit suicide, according to a Department of Veterans Affairs report in 2013.
Similar online efforts have been successful for other causes. One of the most well-known, the ALS Ice Bucket Challenge, went viral and raised more than $100 million for the ALS Association.
The group said in July that money from the challenge helped fund the discovery of a gene connected to ALS, also known as Lou Gehrig’s disease, which will help in developing new therapy.
– Newschannel 6
