This post is a follow up to the Give Story originally submitted by Blue Steele Solutions. You can read it here.
When we first started Thom’s campaign, we had no clue how successful it would actually be.
I reconnected with Thom over a Facebook message and some online gaming — we hadn’t talked in years, and I hadn’t really spoken with him since his accident.
He’s paralyzed, you see — an old man in a truck pulled out in front of Thom’s motorcycle. Thom was going 50mph.
He’s Lucky to Be Alive
He’s been in a wheelchair for years now, and he hasn’t been able to travel long distances on his own.
That doesn’t really work in Texas — everything is miles away from everything else. It’s pretty spread out around here.
He has a caregiver who can give him rides to appointments and such, but it’s not the same as driving yourself.
His Autonomy Was Taken Away
When I realized this, the first thought in my mind was Give. We’d used the Give plugin at Blue Steele Solutions before, but here was a chance to really put it to the test.
As soon as we told everyone at Give about the project, they were on board. They were as excited as we were to help Thom get a van and his freedom back.
And that’s really what this van is about — Thom is free now. He’s not stuck at home, dependent on another person for something as simple as getting a soda late at night.
You don’t realize how much that means until it’s torn from you.
Give Stepped Up
Give and the awesome folks over at WordImpress were gracious enough to give us free access to the recurring donations functionality — and we put it to work right away.
Heather setup the website, wheelsforthom.com, Thom and I wrote the content, we plugged Give in, and we shared the website liberally on social media.
The Reaction Was Immediate
In less than a week, we had over $3,000 (much more than we probably would have gotten had we used GoFundMe or a similar site, something I had to dissuade Thom from right off the bat).
That was one of the major benefits of using Give — Thom got the majority of the money that was raised.
I think that $3,000 figure is actually a little misleading — because after 8 days or so, the campaign (and Thom’s need) reached his aunt and uncle. They had no idea Thom needed help — but they were ready to contribute (and in a VERY big way).
They Sent Thom a Check for $5,000 — That Wouldn’t Have Happened Without the online fundraising campaign
All told, the campaign raised $9,000 over the course of the next few weeks. And that’s all it took. Without the functionality to accept donations online, we would have raised much less — and who knows if that would have been enough for his aunt and uncle to donate?
Although our ultimate goal was to get Thom an entire van, that turned out not to be necessary. To get funding for the modifications to the van, Thom needed to secure employment, something he had been putting off.
Once we got the website launched (with donations coming in immediately), he was spurred to action. He found a job, which meant the over $40,000 worth of modifications would be covered by the state.
Thom Is Getting His Life Back
Though the van itself ultimately costs around $38,000, the $9,000 we raised was enough to get the down payment to a level Thom could manage with his disability income and his new job.
It was also just enough money to move Thom into action in other areas of his life. He’d already been accepted into college at The University of Texas at Arlington, and though he’d taken a few classes online, nothing compares to the real thing.
Attending classes is now a possibility.
He goes to his first class this fall. That hope the website gave him in the beginning turned into a reality.
He’s come a LONG way, and I honestly don’t think it would have been possible without Give. If we had run into ANY problems with donations in the beginning, I honestly don’t think we would have been able to raise the money that we did.
Give made the process simple and straightforward — and Thom’s life will be forever changed because of it.
In a good way this time.
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