Photo: DAVE HUNT/EPA-EFE/Shutterstock
Generous strangers offering support to Quaden Bayles raised nearly $745,000 for thebullied Australian boy— and now, nearly all of that money will go to charity.
Quaden, a 9-year-old Aboriginal Australian with achondroplasia dwarfism, found himself in the public eye earlier this month after his mother posted a since-deleted Facebook video of him in tears saying that he wanted to end his life over relentless bullying,CNNreported.
After the clip went viral, Quaden received support across the globe — including from comedian Brad Williams, who set up aGoFund pageto raise money to send Quaden and his mother to Disneyland.
“I’m setting up this GoFundMe to let Quaden know that bullying will not be tolerated, and that he is a wonderful human being who deserves joy,” Williams, who also has achondroplasia, wrote in a description of the fundraiser, which he said would donate any leftover money to anti-bullying/abuse charities.
Though the crowdfunding page has raised $474,924 — more than enough for flights, a hotel, food and Disneyland tickets for two — Williams said Thursday that Quaden and his family had “kindly declined going to Disneyland.”
Michael Tullberg/Getty
Williams outlined on the page how the funds would instead be allocated, and said that six different charities would receive approximately $66,000 each:Born This Way Foundation,STOMP Out Bullying,Dolly’s Dream,Dwarfism Awareness Australia,Gallang PlaceandBalunu Foundation.
Anything left over will go directly to Quaden for “direct medical help, education, accommodation costs, food to feed the family, and donating to additional charities of his choosing,” Williams wrote.
PEOPLE has confirmed with GoFundMe that its Trust and Safety team is “working closely” with Williams to ensure that all donations are properly distributed to the beneficiaries Williams listed on the GoFundMe page.
“Bullies never win, and this fundraising effort shows that when bullies attack, communities stand proudly for what’s right,” Williams wrote. “Thank you for being a part of this global community of kind and awesome human beings.”
Quaden Bayles.Jason McCawley/Getty Images
“This little fella has been bullied. How many suicides, black or white, in our society have happened due to bullying?” she told the outlet. “We want the money to go to community organizations that really need it.”
Quaden, whowalked on the field hand-in-handwith team captain Joel Thompson, later told his mom he’d gone from “the worst day of his life to the best day of his life,” according to theBBC.
However, as multiple outlets pointed out, Quaden’s story was previously made known, and the boy has been profiled numerous times over the years, including onTodayin 2016 as well as onAustralian televisionwhen he was 4 years old.
source: people.com
