All about GiveForward and #Love>Hate

I’m sure many of you participated–or know someone who participated in–the ALS ice bucket challenge this summer. My family participated and it’s one of the reasons I’m happy to be working with my sponsor, GiveForward, to share today’s blog post.

So much  good came out of the ALS ice bucket challenge. It raised awareness and much needed research funds.

But a little bit of bad happened, too. Perhaps you heard about the ALS ice bucket prank played on a 14-year-old autistic boy in Bay Village, Ohio? Some mean teenagers challenged the boy and then they filled his bucket with human feces and urine.  His family bravely came forward with the story and the awful video, which is too horrible to show.

I can’t imagine what that young man must have felt. Or his family. My heart goes out to them. What terrible behavior from those bullies.

Thankfully, GiveForward, the world’s #1 fundraising site for helping people in need, is doing something to help. When they heard about this prank, they started a fundraiser to raise $5,000 for the boy and his family. In the words of GiveForward, they want the fundraiser “to show him love, rather than hate, and to teach him that he is a hero for knowing that was wrong and being able to come out and talk about what happened.”

Starting a fundraiser also shows you what can happen when people take action rather than standing by and doing nothing. Indeed, GiveForward wholeheartedly believes that we can truly change the world if we can change how people act when they see these things in the news.

For instance, the folks at GiveForward saw magic happen in the wake of the Boston Marathon bombing. One of the many fundraisers started at that time was for a newlywed couple, Pat and Jess, who lost their legs in the bombing. So many people–from family, to friends, to complete strangers–were outraged by what happened, but they took action, turned to love, and raised almost $900K for the couple, making sure that they would never have to worry about any of their medical expenses.  We don’t have to stand by, say “what a shame” and do nothing else when we see tragedy in the news.

Today we can help GiveForward help this boy and his family. Here’s how we can show this boy and his family overwhelming love and support:

• Spread the word about the fundraiser.
• Share it on Facebook.
• Tweet with the #Love>Hate hashtag.
• Donate to the fundraiser.

Give forward indeed!

 

GiveForward helps people come together and give support when they need it most. Since 2008, GiveForward has helped families raise over 120 million to help cover their expenses during hard times or honor the people that they care about.