A month or so ago, the big ‘fad’ was the ALS Ice Bucket Challenge – dumping buckets of ice cold water over your head and donating money for ALS in an attempt to fund-raise and raise awareness of the cause.

Everyone was doing it. Even we did it! (And I have to admit, it definitely exceeded its goal in fundraising and raising awareness!)

All was fun and games until… (you know someone always has to ruin it)

In Bay Village, Ohio, three teens challenged one of their fellow students, a fourteen-year-old boy with Autism to take the ALS Ice bucket challenge. But instead of ice water, the teens dumped a bucket off the roof of a house filled with urine, spit and feces on the teen. Here is the video. [warning it is graphic and disturbing]

(You can see the actual video on the
.)

NO ONE deserves to be treated like this. It’s incredibly brave that he has decided to share his story.

Now, we are rallying together to show him that we are all behind him and that we think he is awesome. The money we raise will go directly to his family, but far more important than any financial contribution, please leave words of support on his
so that he knows that he’s not alone in this fight. The goal is 1000 comments on this page.

Lastly, love only triumphs if we all share it. So… If you believe that this young man is awesome and you want to let him know, please share this with your friends on Facebook. If you’ve ever been bullied or know someone who has been bullied, please share this with your friends on Facebook. If you believe that tolerance is something you want to put your name behind, please share this with your friends on Facebook. If in your heart, you believe that LOVE is bigger than HATE, please share this with your friends on Facebook.

Love is bigger than hate, and let’s prove this to the boy and family that had to experience it.

In addition, it is our mission to teach people about the bystander effect and that there is an outlet to go to when we see people in need. Read more about the bystander effect at
.

About
:

GiveForward is the world’s #1 fundraising site for helping people in need. We help people come together and give support when they need it most. Since 2008, we have helped families raise over 120 million to help cover their expenses during hard times or honor the people that they care about.

However, we know that not all people work at GiveForward and know what to do when they see these things in the news. 98% of the time we stand by idly and watch life go by. When we see a tragedy or injustice on the news, we say “what a shame” and then we flip the channel and proceed to do NOTHING about it, as we expect someone else will step up and help.

We want to change that. We want people to know there is an outlet.

We also know that when people don’t stand around being bystanders, magic can happen. We saw it when a bomb exploded at the finish line of the Boston Marathon and this nation made a collective decision that we were going to do something about it.

One of the many fundraisers started at that time was for a newylwed couple, Pat and Jess, who lost their legs in the bombing. Friends, family, and so many that were outraged by what happened that day were able to raise almost $900K for them, making sure that they would never have to worry about any of their medical expenses as they deal with their new life with prosthetic legs.

We saw it again when Jeff Martin, a Michigan State fan, read a story about the friendship between Michigan State star basketball player, Adreian Payne and 8-year-old Lacey Holsworth who was fighting cancer. He didn’t know either of them personally, but he decided he wasn’t going to be a bystander and instead started a GiveForward page for Lacey. The fundraiser raised over $100K to help with Lacey’s medical bills and was again, able to prove that magic can happen when we chose to act.

GiveForward wants this magic to happen for the 14 year old boy that was subject to terrible bullying and a disgusting prank. That’s why we are turning to you all and asking for your help in spreading the word.

We are asking for you to do a post about the fundraiser and share on your social media. We want to prove that there is more love in this world than hate, and we specifically want to show that to the 14 year old boy that had to experience the terrible prank.

But we also want to teach people that there is a place to go when we see tragedy or injustice in the world. We don’t want people to be bystander’s. We think that we can truly change the world if we can change how people act when they see these things in the news.

We hope that starts here by blog posts starting the conversation, and we also hope that the entire internet world starts talking about the fundraiser through social media to make this 14 year old boy feel the overwhelming support that he deserves right now.

Let’s rally behind the 14-year-old boy from the ALS Ice Bucket challenge prank in Bay Village to let him know that he is awesome.

#Love>Hate