A mum from the UK who set up a GoFundMe page in order to take her two young children to Disney World has responded to the backlash she received.
Nikki Smith, of Bristol, was looking to raise more than $8,000 through the platform to be able to take her daughters aged 12 and 10 on the overseas holiday.
Soon after the mum-of-two made the plea it had been shared more than 18,000 times on Facebook but with donations hitting just $16. Smith then deleted it upon the story hitting UK headlines.
Now, the 33-year-old responded to the criticism by re-launching a GoFundMe page on the platform, and defending her intentions, despite telling The Sun earlier that week that it was “a bad idea”.
“After the worst time and the twisted story the newspapers told about me I was prompted to put my page back up, I feel this to be the only way I can speak out, I am not a bad person. I also am not asking people for their hard earned money, people have a choice,” she wrote on the new page.
“The press have made me out to be an awful person when I was only thinking of my children and making them happy.”
Smith went on to detail how the negativity and backlash was overwhelming and that was motivated only by a desire to fulfil her daughters’ “dreams”.
“I never meant to upset anyone. I’m traumatised by the abuse and negativity I have received and only put this back up because a lot of people said I should. Online trolls are evil, I haven’t hurt anyone and I was only trying to fulfil my children’s dreams,” she wrote.
In her initial plea for money, Smith wrote that her two daughters are her "best friends and her life" and that she wanted to "show them how much [she] appreciates and loves them".
"I work two nights a week at our local hospital as this is all I am able to do ATM [at the moment] because of childcare and contract hours.
"They love anything Disney and I know that I would never be able to get them there on my own, by the time I save up they would be too old to enjoy it," she added.
At the time of publishing, the new page had raised nearly $790 for the family.
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Top Comments
Omg. So many judgy people about. She wasn't scamming. She was totally upfront about what she wanted the money for. People then have the option to ignore her request or give her some money. The platform is made just for that. People make a plea, we decide, we give or don't give. No drama. There is absolutely no need to berate anyone. I actually don't mind kicking in for kids to have a fun holiday. My kids are fortunate enough to go overseas so why shouldn't other kids too.
Can you send me some money? Going for a few days on Hamilton Island mid next month with the family and the place is rather expensive.
Why not set up a go fund me page Les? People might generously donate to gift you with a holiday. Wouldn't that be nice? Then again they might not. That's alright too :)
Good one Rebecca. Exactly my point. And no Les, I will politely decline your request.
Gofundme pages make me uncomfortable. I know there are plenty of people on there raising money for worthy causes, but there is an enormous number of people begging for luxury items or asking for handouts when they aren't prepared to make financial sacrifices themselves ( one guy I know wanted to raise the entirety of the amount needed to get his girlfriend an Australian visa so they could stay together - but neither were prepared to give up their expensive holidays or luxury lifestyle to help save. I kind of think if you don't have the courage of your own convictions then why should I?). That being said I don't think she deserved that backlash. She didn't lie about what she wanted the money for and nobody is forced to donate if they don't like it.
With that said, Australian partner visa is extremely overpriced. We don't choose who we fall in love with and if migration is a part of that path it can really set back such couples.
Having a husband from Scotland I do understand that, and perhaps if I could see them working at budgeting and saving I may have made a donation. At the time they were asking for money they were also enjoying front row tickets to concerts and about to embark on a big six week long European holiday. At this very time my husband and I were living on beans and toast, I was working extra hours, we had cut back on every single thing in our lives and removed every luxury from our spending ( if it wasn't absolutely neccessary to live we just cut it) so we could save for $16000 IVF. That was hard going, but we did it because this was something we really believed in and really wanted and were determined to make happen. It was really jarring to see a couple complaining about the cost of a partner visa while on an expensive overseas holiday that could have paid for that very visa. Of course I didn't say a thing about it to them, it was their choice to go that route and if people felt good about donating then that is their money and their business.