Young Girl's Death Inspires Thousands to Give, Fulfill Her Goal
Family and friends remember Rachel Beckwith as a very caring and generous girl who wanted to help others. Before her June 12th birthday, Beckwith told those she loved that she only wanted gifts in the form of donations to be made to Charity Water to help bring clean water to an African village. She wanted to raise $300 by her birthday. The 9-year-old eventually reached that goal but was not alive to see it.
Beckwith was killed in a 13-car accident on Interstate 90 in Bellevue, Wash., last week, reports the Seattle Times.
Upon hearing about her untimely death, many people reached into their pockets and donated to the charity via the young girl’s fundraising page: mycharitywater.org/rachels9thbirthday.
Get Our Latest News for FREE
By Thursday night 17,317 people had donated, amounting $593,819.
According to the Times, Rachel had only raised $220 by her birthday and closed her fundraising page. Ryan Meeks, a pastor from her church, had the page reopened to help achieve the young girl’s dream of helping people. The Times reports that by Tuesday night Rachel’s goal had “been surpassed more than 1,000 times over.”
"I found out that millions of people don't live to see their 5th birthday," Rachel wrote on her page. "And why? Because they didn't have access to clean, safe water so I'm celebrating my birthday like never before. I'm asking from everyone I know to donate to my campaign instead of gifts for my birthday. Every penny of the money raised will go directly to fund freshwater projects in developing nations."
Rachel’s mother, Samantha, posted on the website Monday night: I am in awe of the overwhelming love to take my daughter’s dream and make it a reality. In the face of unexplainable pain you have provided undeniable hope. Thank you for your generosity!
I know Rachel is smiling!
Contributors are allowed to post comments when they contribute to the cause and many took the time to express their sympathy for the family as well as their awe for such an inspiring little girl. One woman wrote:
“Rachel, you are a sweet little angel that has touched more lives than imaginable.”
According to The Lookout, Rachel was on life support after the accident. Her church is raising money to help the family pay their medical bills.
