Fellow Kossacks, the news I bring you, while bittersweet, is, overall, good.
About a week ago, qannabbos, one our members reported on the story of a little girl named Rachel who, upon learning that there are millions of people in the world who don't have access to clean water decided to do something about it and set up a donation site with Charity:Water to raise $300 to help out.
Unfortunately, Rachel was killed in a nasty car accident a couple of days before her birthday and was unable to see her birthday wish fulfillled.
You can read qannabbos' original diary here:
http://www.dailykos.com/...
Follow me below the fold for a fantastic update:
By the time qannabbos' diary had dropped off the rec list, over $750,000 had been raised to bring water to those who need it most. A lot of it was raised right here on this site.
Today, in my email box, I received an update from Charity:Water informing me that as of today, nearly a million dollars has been raised in this little girl's memory-enough to provide drinking water to nearly 50,000 people.
Congratulations are certainly in order here. To Charity:Water, to many of us Kossacks and most certainly to Rachel who, despite not being here to see it, would have certainly been overwhelmed by the level of support.
From Rachel's mother comes this:
I cannot thank you enough for your donation. Knowing that Rachel has touched your life enough to go out of your way to support her cause makes me so proud and overwhelmed with gratitude. I have never felt God's love so strongly. The outpouring of support we've received from friends, family, and those of you who have never met Rachel is beyond amazing. Thank you again for helping grow Rachel's dream beyond her imagination.
It's an honor to be a part of this life changing experience."
-Samantha Paul
I, for one, have been incredibly moved by this whole experience and, although I'm not much a cryer, I've been finding it difficult to write this without wiping my eyes periodically because of the sheer beauty and sadness of this whole saga. To know that, among us, even the youngest are willing to share and help out gives me great comfort. To know that this generous little girl is gone forever I find unbearable.
Thanks, once again, fellow Kossacks and qannabbos for helping to make this campaign such a phenomenal success. If there are those of you who feel you can add to it, Rachel's birthday wish is still accepting contributions here:
http://mycharitywater.org/...