Community Raises $1,500 to Buy Swing

I want to share with all of you a story of hope, a tale of people selflessly coming together to support a child none of them know because they were compelled to make the sun shine a little brighter.

I want to share this story with you because on a platform that feels like negative content is at an all time high, there are moments of pride that stand out and provide a reminder of the true power each of us brings.

The Backstory

When we found out my daughter was going to be switching schools as part of the special education program for Kindergarteners, I made it a point to become involved. As a Neurodiversity and Disability Professional and parent, much less one with a platform, I wanted to know who all the players were that would be supporting my child and make sure they had the tools they needed to succeed.

Before school had even started I got to meet with the school's principle Dr. Sheryl Fleming. During our conversation I let her know that I am happy to support any way I can.

In passing, she mentioned they could really use an adaptive swing for one of the students that was not mobile. I truly do not believe she actually expected anything to happen, but when I heard that I sprang into action.

I started looking at what an adaptive swing was and I reached out to local groups for parents with Autism. I then checked Amazon and looked at pricing.

My goal was really to find a company that would donate a swing. I never really considered crowdsourcing.

When I wasn't finding the information I needed, almost as a last resort I posted to my LinkedIn community.

When I posted it I was looking for resources, no expectation or goal of raising money. However, the outpouring of support was incredible. 6,000 people viewed the post with over 50 comments. Many of which were actionable resources and options.People suggested companies and nonprofits. It gave me a lot of runway to go on.

Then one person offered to donate $250 and that began a thread that led to promises of close to a thousand dollars toward the swing.

Privately I then got messages with commitments of another $500.

As this is going on I am going back and forth with Dr. Fleming who was in quite a bit of shock at how fast everything was coming together.

In the background I was speaking to the largest providers of playground equipment in the country.One particular call led to all of this coming together. I reached out to Playmart.com and left a voicemail. Within an hour I got a call back and they wanted to help.

The following Monday, a local group called me on behalf of Playmart wanting to help.

We went through the different options and my eyes were opened to the different types of swings available. I had assumed we needed an Adaptive Swing which comes with straps to keep a child in place. The inclusive Swing had a more secure over the top locking mechanism to hold a child's head in place. We decided to go with the Inclusive Swing.

The Paper Trail

As we picked out the swing I wanted to make sure that anyone choosing to donate knew where the money was going. Let's face it, people use this sort of situation to scam other and my network is extremely important to me, I wanted zero concern over where it was .

I asked the donors and I am grateful to say they trusted me with their money, still I decided to use Paypal.

I set it up and shared screen shots with everyone as I signed the estimate and paid for the seat.

Upon completion there was elation.

It was one of the most gratifying moments of my life knowing in a few short weeks we were able to complete this goal.

The Young Man

The young man at the center of everyone coming together name Is M. (putting his first initial for privacy.) M is the son of two veterans who had long since thought they were done having children. He is a miracle child. Not just in the pregnancy but in his survival. When M was born early he was immediately put into the NICU and given little to no chance for survival.

In fact, when he was sent home with his parents, he went straight into hospice and his parents were told by the doctors to enjoy the moments they had.

It was their hospice nurse that first gave them hope that the young boy would survive.

5 years later, in spite of Cerebral Palsy and other challenges, M comes to school each day with a smile on his face. He loves loud music and interacting with others. He immediately gave me a high five and has this aura of joy that rubs off on all those who get to know him.

What's Next

As we wait for the swing to come in, in 6-8 weeks, I acknowledge that while what we were able to accomplish is inspiring, there are schools across the country and all over the world with students just like M that desperately need support but schools and parents are without the funds to make it happen.

This is where we need to step in. If a two minute post on a random day can lead to this much joy, imagine what could happen if we all do just a little bit more.

Everyone deserves to be happy, to be able to play with their friends and look up at the sky and smile without worrying, even for a fleeting moment, then what are we waiting for?

Gratitude

Every Wednesday Sarah Storm and Jessi Hempel close Office Hours with gratitude. I think today it should be pretty obvious who I am grateful for.

To the amazing donors that selflessly devoted their time, patience and money, I is beyond grateful to you and for the trust you placed in me.

For my network that came together with words of support, advice etc, I truly appreciate you.

To Playmart and Pacific Playground I appreciate you both working with me to make this happen.

I can speak for Dr. Fleming, myself and M's parents when I say that the world can be a beautiful place when we want it to be.

Sending Love,

Dan Roth