Stoolies Have Raised Over $7,000 For Star Warrior Evan In The Last 22 Hours, And Guess What? He Just Beat Cancer.
Yeah, yeah, I know, I finally caved and wrote “Star Warrior” in a headline, but I’m so happy today that I don’t even care.
This time yesterday, I came across the above video and decided to through it up on the blog. I thought it was so awesome that the kind folks at the St. Louis Children’s Hospital made Evan a custom Clone Trooper mask to wear while he underwent proton beam therapy, and even more awesome that it truly put a smile on the kid’s face. He’s going through some shit much worse than you or I may ever go through, but because he’s got Star Wars (and an amazing support system behind him) in his life, you’d never know it. That was just an amazing embodiment of how much this franchise means to some people, and I thought it’d be cool if I sent Evan some Star Wars merchandise to brighten his day. I put out a call for anyone that knew Evan or his family to find out where I could send the care package to, and was directed to the hospital itself who told me they’d gladly handle any and all donations sent his way. I then mentioned on Twitter that I’d open up my Venmo account and put any money I received there towards some presents for the kid, and was STUNNED at the response after two hours…
…and then it kept going…
…and going…
…and going…
…and as of this writing, we’re at $7,442.01 raised for our favorite little Clone Trooper. Never did I ever imagine this would blow up to the level it has, as I originally just wanted to get the kid a few toys or something, but the Stoolies and Star Warriors came through once again and decided to make some dreams come true. I can’t thank you all enough, from the people who donated a penny to the ones that threw us a hundo, it all counts and it’s not going unnoticed.
Now, I won’t be putting all of this money towards a few AT-ATs for Evan, because while those are great (and we will get him some), I feel like a few thousand worth of Star Wars merchandise is more than enough (and I’m thinking of his poor parents who are gonna have to find the room for all of this). The majority of the money is going to go towards making a big long-term impact within the hospital and hopefully providing ALL of the kids there with a toys or two. We haven’t figured our the exact percentages of how much money is going where yet, but I am working with the hospital to decide how to do this smartly and promise that 100% of the money is going to them. Those updates will come with time, and I’ll be sure to keep everyone informed. My Venmo, ThatRobbieFox, will be open until Wednesday at midnight (Thursday morning technically) and then we’re gonna cap it off and put this cash to work.
Oh, and I haven’t even told you the best part yet. Check out this email I received from the hospital this afternoon…
Evan switched off his targeting computer, used the Force, and fired those proton torpedoes right into the Death Star. He beat cancer. I’m not a religious person at all, so I guess you could say Star Wars is the closest thing I have to a religion, and I’ll be damned if this isn’t somehow an act of the Force. The timing is just impeccable. Once again, thank you to all who donated or even just threw me a retweet to spread the word. This response has been unbelievable and I don’t have the words to express my gratitude here. I’m speechless.
To Evan, congratulations buddy. You did it. You’re about to have a lot of free time on your hands now that you’re cancer-free and the Stoolies have made sure that time will be well spent with more Star Wars swag than you could ever dream up.