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Seven-year-old Winter Slade had a brilliant, amazingly generous idea: She had enough toys, so for her birthday, she would ask all her friends to make a donation for wildlife conservation through Canadian program Bring Back the Wild. Beautiful gesture, right? I mean -- who is this kid? My Grinchy heart grew three sizes bigger just reading about her.
But what if you're a sweet, altruistic child living among trolls? When the parents of Winter's friends heard about her plan, they made fun of her. Within earshot! They told Winter's mother it was a stupid idea. Right there in front of the kid. Shaking my head, you mean parents.
Well, turns out Winter had the last laugh.
(Geez, what is wrong with those parents? Why would you want to crush a little girl's dreams like that? They made her cry! Ugh.)
But back to Winter and her awesomeness. Her mother, Michelle, knew she was going to have a hard time getting her friends to cooperate with this plan now, what with their parents shitting all over the idea. Instead, she relied on the mercy of the Interwebs: She posted Winter's fundraising page on social news website Reddit. "I really want to restore her faith in fundraising for nature conservancy," Michelle wrote. And miracle of miracles, people responded.
Within days, Winter's page had raised nearly $2,500 to help protect the habitat of the pine marten.
And here's the part that will break your heart: In her plea on Reddit, Michelle left out an important detail. It just so happens that she's fighting cancer. That gives you an idea of why Winter was so altruistic in her birthday wish. Having a very sick mom would really change your priorities. I think Winter is thinking hard about what matters in this world.
Naturally, Winter has been very concerned and upset about her mother -- but raising funds for the pine marten was an enormous boost for her. All she got out of it was a t-shirt from the Nature Conservancy of Canada, but she's thrilled. What an inspiring kid -- and mom! I hope Michelle hangs in there for a good, long time.
Has your kid ever done any sort of fundraising?
Image via Earth Rangers
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