Meet the sweet girl in the video below.
Video credit: USA TODAY
A young girl has raised over $70,000 just by holding a sign on a roadside.
Addie Bryan had an unfortunate start of life. She was born with a condition called Larsen syndrome, according to the Rockwall County Herald-Banner.
The condition leads to several issues including deformities in facial bones. However, the most severe outcome of the syndrome is the development of misaligned joints and club feet.
Addie’s legs were bent backward and she also had a club foot.
Though she still can’t bend her knees, the little girl can now move around and play like other children, thanks to the efforts of Dallas’ Texas Scottish Rite Hospital.
“She started [treatment] when she was five days old, and since then, she’s loved every bit of it,” Addie’s mum, Julie, told People.
“The hospital staff really took a great interest in her early on and gave her that positive experience. Every time she would go, they gave her toys and popcorn and invited her to different events.”
Addie was so thankful to the hospital that she decided to raise money for it.
She first started a lemonade stand with her friends back in 2014. But after some time, she abandoned the plan and simply decided to stand on her street corner, holding a sign and a hat.
Contrary to her expectations, she raised an incredible $4,200 that year.
Next year, she set her goal to raise at least $8,000 by following the same strategy. “I just hold a sign that says, ‘For my birthday, I want to raise $8,000 for Scottish Rite Hospital,’” Addie told USA Today.
The media coverage spread the word and she ended up making over $19,500. “I thought, ‘Wow, that is a lot of money,’” Addie said.
But a huge surprise was waiting for the little girl.
An anonymous man, who had become Addie’s fan after watching her tireless efforts on media, donated a whopping $50,000 to Scottish Rite Hospital in her name.
“I am almost speechless, because I am the one who opened it,” Stephanie Brigger, the hospital’s vice president of development, said.
“The anonymous donor wrote about seeing Addie and the pictures of her and then seeing her running. That’s a lot of casts and a lot of prosthetic devices.
“Every little bit and big amounts help us do what we do.”
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