Church Raises Thousands Toward Rachel Beckwith's Last Birthday Wish
A young girl’s church has made sure that her final birthday wish was realized several times over.
Rachel Beckwith died on Saturday, a little over one month after her 9th birthday. Instead of presents for her birthday, she had requested that money be donated to a charity which aids in providing clean water for third world countries. In her memory, her church has taken over the cause.
Beckwith decided to dedicate her birthday to helping those in need after hearing the founder of the My Charity: Water speak at her church, the Eastlake Community Church in Bellavue, Wa. By her birthday on June 12, Beckwith had raised $280, just $80 shy of her $300 goal.
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On July 20, the girl was involved in a 14-vehicle pileup near her Bellevue home. Her family decided to take her off of life support on Saturday. Head injuries and a served spinal cord made it virtually impossible for her to survive.
The pastors at the Eastlake Community Church continued to promote Beckwith’s birthday wish on Facebook and Twitter. As news of her accident and then death spread, donations “began pouring in by the hour,” they detailed.
“She did what she could, and now she can’t but we could pick up where she left off,” Pastor Jeremy Johnson told KOMO News.
As of Monday night, the church has helped to raise over $160,000 for My Charity: Water.
On her My Charity page, Rachel spoke about children who don’t see their 5th birthday because of the lack of clean water. Despite the fact that she won’t see her 10th birthday, her short life will help to almost 6000 people receive vital clean water.
“Life is coming out of this death, with Rachel’s generosity,” Pastor Ryan Meeks told CNN.
Rachel’s My Charity page will continue to accept donations over the next month. Contributions through My Charity: Water will be donated directed to clean-water-projects, “helping more than 1 million people in 16, mostly in Africa and Asia.”
