Taylor Swift continues to win hearts not only with her marvellous songs but also with her heartfelt gestures. The global pop sensation made a generous donation to a young fan battling brain cancer.
On Friday,
October 17, the Life of a Showgirl singer, 35, donated $100,000 (Rs 87 lakh) to Lilah, a 2-year-old girl who was diagnosed with a rare form of brain cancer at 18 months.
Taylor Swift Donated $100,000 To A Toddler Fighting Cancer
Swift learned about Lilah’s situation after the toddler’s mother, Katelynn Smoot, began sharing her daughter’s health journey on social media over the past few months. Katelynn shared Lilah’s battle with brain cancer while raising funds for her treatment through a GoFundMe page that has been active since March.
Swift got involved last week after Katelynn posted a video on her TikTok page named Stand with Lilah, where her 2-year-old daughter adorably called the Life of a Showgirl singer her “friend” while watching one of Swift’s videos on her iPad.
Katelynn joked in the video’s caption, which also included clips of her attending Swift’s Eras Tour while pregnant with Lilah.
She also revealed that Lilah’s name was supposed to be Willow, one of the titles of Swift’s tracks launched in 2020. She added, “ Lilah’s name was originally going to be Willow. We were set on that name my whole pregnancy but ultimately ended on Lilah. I listened to Taylor my whole pregnancy and then birthed a mini swiftie.
Lilah loves Taylor’s music and during her cancer treatment she always found joy in it. I hope Lilah gets through this diagnosis and gets to one day go to a Taylor Swift concert in person. I know she would love it.”
Lilah’s Family Get Emotional
On Friday, October 17, the singer donated $100,000 (Rs 87 lakh) through GoFundMe, writing, “Sending the biggest hug to my friend, Lilah! Love, Taylor.
Katelynn, Lilah, and their family were overwhelmed with joy, as Swift’s donation pushed them nearly $60,000 (Rs 52.77 lakh) past their $100,000 fundraising goal.
Katelynn shared a video on Friday, expressing, “the donation will allow us to just focus on being here with our girl.”
She captioned the video, “Is this real life?” it featured herself and Lilah dancing to Swift’s new track The Fate of Ophelia.
She wrote, “Thank you so so much @taylorswift. I am in shock. “This means so much to us. I can’t express in words how incredibly grateful we are. Tyler [Lilah’s father] and I can just focus on our baby girl and being together as a family. I can’t stop crying. You have given us such a beautiful gift. Thank you.”
The sweet video also featured Lilah thanking the pop star and once again calling her “my friend.”
According to the GoFundMe page, Lilah’s type of brain cancer is extremely rare and aggressive, with only 58 documented cases reported in the U.S. last year.