Danni Messina (pictured), 19, started an online drive promising to donate money to a children’s hospital
Washington State University student Danni Messina took to social media this week with a charitable idea in mind.
She posted a message to Twitter pledging 50 cents for every retweet and 25 cents for every ‘favorite’ received, promising to take the money and donate it to St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital in nearby Seattle.
‘This time of year is about giving – this year, I am giving back to St. Jude & the families who are supported by their amazing services,’ Messina wrote in the November 25 post.
But the campaign quickly turned into a viral phenomenon, garnering over 200,000 retweets and more than 450,000 favorites in just a few days.
The pledge now has the 19-year-old owing the hospital more than $200,000.
‘I was originally planning on donating personally $1,000,’ she told CBS News.
The campaign quickly turned into a viral phenomenon, garnering over 200,000 retweets and more than 450,000
The college student said she was originally inspired a friend spending the Thanksgiving holiday in a hospital
Messina thought the campaign would attract a handful of interactions from her friends and followers, but by the next day the post had spread like wildfire through the Internet, forcing her to call off the drive, she told KREM.
‘Wowza ok – so we are stopping it here,’ she tweeted on November 27.
Despite the tremendous sum, Messina in determined to keep her promise and has turned to the public for help
By Wednesday morning, the total tweet count shows a total 200,304 retweets and 464,151 Likes.
Despite the tremendous sum, Messina in determined to keep her promise and has setup a GoFundMe page in order to ask the public for their assistance.
‘I tweeted because I had absolutely no idea there would be that much support around the idea,’ Messina said.
‘So, unfortunately, I don’t have the funds to support this, but here is a link to donate to one of the best hospitals there is.’
The page has already raised more than $11,050 from 775 donors as of Wednesday morning. She set the price goal at $50,000.
‘Love that you’re doing this! Keep it up!’ one person commented.
‘Thanks for having this idea and using social media for good and not harm. Good luck!’ another wrote.
The college student said she was originally inspired a friend spending the Thanksgiving holiday in a hospital instead of at home with his family.
‘I am still in shock. I think it’s so incredible that people are donating because they saw my tweet,’ she said.
‘I love the awareness part of it, and it’s been awesome talking to St. Jude more.’