Happiness

A Beautiful Winter

For her 8th birthday, Winter Slade decided that she wanted to do something different. Instead of presents, she decided that she wanted to help protect the pine marten, a relative of the ferret whose habitat is being threatened. Though her birthday isn’t until November, Winter can’t stop talking about it.
But the road to victory hasn’t been easy. When she first started telling her friends about it, their parents effectively shut her down, openly talking about her “stupid idea” right in front of her. Their skepticism is definitely understandable, we’ve all been around long enough to see examples of bad charities and over-hyped promises, but poor Winter was crushed. On her way home from school, she openly started crying, asking her mom why her friend’s parents “said I was stupid.” Her excitement was crushed by jaded adults.
Realizing that they needed to shift gears, Winter’s mom, Michelle, took to Reddit on a Thursday night. There, she put out a simple plea, “Please help me restore her faith in humanity.” When she awoke the next morning, she’d started to see some results. People had responded to her plea, and Winter had almost $100 donated to her name. As the day progressed, more and more people contributed – praising Winter’s kindness and sharing how Winter had inspired them as well. Overnight, Winter’s dream was coming true. By Saturday, Winter had nearly $2,500 raised and a beaming smile.
There’s one important detail that makes this story stand out, but that Winter’s mom intentionally kept a secret in her plea to ensure that Winter got the spotlight. You see, Winter needed this excitement. Her mother has been fighting a long battle with cancer, which consumes much of their lives. Michelle shares that Winter is “my oldest and most concerned. She thinks about it a lot and cries about it a lot.”
For Michelle, the most important part of this journey is seeing her daughter happy again. It gives her something to be excited about instead of worrying about what might happen tomorrow.
http://www.changeathought.com/family-friends/children/beautiful-winter/