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SEATTLE, Wash. — Everyone who knew her said it was Rachel Beckwith's smile that was unforgettable. And yet for those she never met it was her heart that mattered most.
On her 9th birthday, Rachel decided instead of presents, she wanted donations — money for thirsty kids in a faraway lands to get a clean drink of water.
There were times when we were on air talking about it, where I would just be hitting the refresh button on my browser and it would go up a thousand dollars at a time.
–Ron Upshaw, talk radio host
"We've been blown away by the wish of a little girl," said Scott Herrison, founder and CEO of Charity Water.
She raised $220 dollars and vowed to do it again next year — on her 10th birthday. But then tragedy struck.
In July, a pile-up on I-90 near Seattle claimed more than a dozen cars and one life — Rachel's.
Family and friends were inconsolable. The best memorial, they figured, was to keep Rachel's water drive going. So they did, and then came the flood.
Her story spread on talk radio, Facebook and Twitter. Soon, Rachel's tally grew.
"There were times when we were on air talking about it, where I would just be hitting the refresh button on my browser and it would go up a thousand dollars at a time," said talk radio host Ron Upshaw.
In California, April Gulley was one of those who donated. "I just get really emotional thinking about her passion, and just that her life wasn't in vain."
Strangers have even donated to her family.
"Her basic idea of just loving and giving, those two things are so simple; and in a broken world, it's really easy to get behind that," said Chris Black, of Band of Brothers Northwest.
Rachel set out to raise a few hundred dollars. Her total is now over $1 million — enough to help more than 50,000 people get clean water for life.
It's a record that stands not only for its size, but for what it says: that in her death, Rachel taught the rest of us how to live.
CLICK HERE for information on how you can donate to Rachel's mycharity: water project.
