Rachel Wished for Clean Water. What Will You Wish For?

Some of us wish for a new purse, a spa day, or a snazzy watch for our birthdays. And that’s when we’re turning 40. It was one little girl, who was just turning nine, who wished for something much more intangible, meaningful, and priceless than a Coach clutch or Cartier. She wished for clean water. Let me say that again: clean water. I think I was wishing for Polly Pockets at that point—this girl was a step ahead.It kills me that she had to take a step back. Rachel Beckwith, who was simply trying to raise $300 by her ninth birthday, was tragically killed in a car accident just days after blowing out the candles. There’s always a sunny side though, even in situations as horrific as this. With Rachel’s passing, it has also come to pass that she’s raised more than her $300 goal. She has instead raised $695,445 from 34,772 people at this time. I’ll bet that by the end of the day, that total will be past $700,000.If we all had wishes like Rachel for our birthdays, I think many more of them would come true. Let’s start wishing for things that make others happy for an extended period of time, instead of just ourselves. Invite others to donate to the causes that you have a passion for, whether it’s saving pandas, stopping sex trafficking, or making progress in cancer research. You may think that your “meager” donation of $300 may not matter, but it does. It did for Rachel.My heart goes out to Rachel’s family and I hope that can sense the massive amount of support extended toward them. No amount of money can provide solace with such a loss like this, but this amount of money will provide a great amount of happiness for the people getting a clean gulp of water. The hundreds of thousands of dollars that have been donated are bringing joy and health to hundreds of thousands of people. Now that is a dream come true.What will you wish for and what will you do to make it happen?Keep shining,The Sunny Girl, Lauren Cook