Rachel's Last Fund-Raiser
Matthew Kruk
August 10, 2011
Rachel's Last Fund-Raiser
By NICHOLAS D. KRISTOF
Perhaps every generation of geezers since Adam and Eve has whined about
young people, and today is no different. Isn't it clear that in contrast
to our glorious selves, kids these days are self-absorbed Facebook
junkies just a pixel deep?
No, actually that's wrong at every level. This has been a depressing
time to watch today's "adults," whose talent for self-absorption and
political paralysis makes it difficult to solve big problems. But many
young people haven't yet learned to be cynical. They believe, in a
wonderfully earnest way, in creating a better world.
In the midst of this grim summer, my faith in humanity has been restored
by the saga of Rachel Beckwith. She could teach my generation a great
deal about maturity and unselfishness - even though she's just 9 years
old, or was when she died on July 23.
Rachel lived outside Seattle and early on showed a desire to give back.
At age 5, she learned at school about an organization called Locks of
Love, which uses hair donations to make wigs for children who have lost
their own hair because of cancer or other diseases. Rachel then asked to
have her long hair shorn off and sent to Locks of Love.
"She said she wanted to help the cancer kids," her mother, Samantha
Paul, told me. After the haircut, Rachel announced that she would grow
her hair long again and donate it again after a few years to Locks of
Love. And that's what she did.
Then when she was 8 years old, her church began raising money to build
wells in Africa through an organization called charity:water. Rachel was
aghast when she learned that other children had no clean water, so she
asked to skip having a ninth birthday party. In lieu of presents, she
asked her friends to donate $9 each to charity:water for water projects
in Africa.
Rachel's ninth birthday was on June 12, and she had set up a birthday
page on the charity:water Web site with a target of $300. Alas, Rachel
was able to raise only $220 - which had left her just a bit
disappointed.
Then, on July 20, as Rachel was riding with her family on the highway,
two trucks collided and created a 13-car pileup. Rachel's car was hit by
one of the trucks, and although the rest of her family was unhurt,
Rachel was left critically injured.
Church members and friends, seeking some way of showing support, began
donating on Rachel's birthday page - charitywater.org/Rachel - and
donations surged past her $300 goal, and kept mounting. As family and
friends gathered around Rachel's bedside, they were able to tell her -
even not knowing whether she couldn't hear them - that she had exceeded
the $47,544 that the singer Justin Bieber had raised for charity:water
on his 17th birthday.
"I think she secretly had a crush on him, but she would never admit it,"
her mom said. "I think she would have been ecstatic."
When it was clear that Rachel would never regain consciousness, the
family decided to remove life support. Her parents donated her hair a
final time to Locks of Love, and her organs to other children. Word
spread about Rachel's last fund-raiser.
Contributions poured in, often in $9 increments, although one 5-year-old
girl sent in the savings in her piggy bank of $2.27. The total donations
soon topped $100,000, then $300,000. Like others, I was moved and
donated. As I write this, more than $850,000 has been raised from all
over the world, including donations from Africans awed by a little
American girl who cared about their continent.
"What has been so inspiring about Rachel is that she has taught the
adults," said Scott Harrison, the founder of charity:water. "Adults are
humbled by the unselfishness of this little girl."
Yet this is a story not just of one girl, but of a generation of young
people working creatively to make this a better world. Mr. Harrison is
emblematic of these young people. Now 35, he established charity:water
when he was 30, and it has taken off partly because of his mastery at
social media. (He's not as experienced in well-drilling, so the wells
are actually dug by expert groups like International Rescue Committee.)
Youth activism has a long history, but this ethos of public service is
on the ascendant today - and today's kids don't just protest against
injustices, as my contemporaries did, but many are also remarkable
problem-solvers.
As for Ms. Paul, she's planning a trip on the anniversary of her
daughter's death next year to see some of the wells being drilled in
Africa in her daughter's name. "It'll be overwhelming to see Rachel's
wells," she said, "to see what my 9-year-old daughter has done for
people all over the world, to meet the people she has touched."
Rachel Beckwith, R.I.P., and may our generation learn from yours.
~M~
news:U1%0q.131611$Ky6....@en-nntp-16.dc1.easynews.com...
> http://www.nytimes.com/2011/08/11/opinion/rachels-last-fund-raiser.html?_r=2&nl=todaysheadlines&emc=tha212
> As for Ms. Paul, she's planning a trip on the anniversary of her
> daughter's death next year to see some of the wells being drilled in
> Africa in her daughter's name. "It'll be overwhelming to see Rachel's
> wells," she said, "to see what my 9-year-old daughter has done for people
> all over the world, to meet the people she has touched."
>
> Rachel Beckwith, R.I.P., and may our generation learn from yours.
I donated to her charity a couple weeks ago. With what she accomplished in
her short time, I can only imagine what she could have done if she were not
taken so soon.
--
"In matters of style, swim with the current; in matters of principle, stand
like a rock."
- Thomas Jefferson
Matthew Kruk
news:7eOdnSVxlMUxENnT...@giganews.com...
> "Matthew Kruk" <nob...@home.com> wrote in message
> news:U1%0q.131611$Ky6....@en-nntp-16.dc1.easynews.com...
>> http://www.nytimes.com/2011/08/11/opinion/rachels-last-fund-raiser.html?_r=2&nl=todaysheadlines&emc=tha212
>> As for Ms. Paul, she's planning a trip on the anniversary of her
>> daughter's death next year to see some of the wells being drilled in
>> Africa in her daughter's name. "It'll be overwhelming to see Rachel's
>> wells," she said, "to see what my 9-year-old daughter has done for
>> people all over the world, to meet the people she has touched."
>>
>> Rachel Beckwith, R.I.P., and may our generation learn from yours.
>
>
> I donated to her charity a couple weeks ago. With what she
> accomplished in her short time, I can only imagine what she could have
> done if she were not taken so soon.
Indeed, a sad loss. Much too soon.