A Donor Like No Other

On a Saturday morning last Spring, CAC Kentucky Executive Director, Caroline Ruschell received an email titled “excited to donate.”  The author, Amanda Bess, was a 34-year old girl she had never met and didn’t appear to have any connections to.  Amanda wrote that she had spent 6 months hiking the appalachian trail and as part of her journey started a GOFUNDME page for 2 non-profit organizations, one of which was the Children’s Advocacy Centers of Kentucky.  When she returned to the office, Caroline Ruschell called Amanda and learned that this was not a joke, but a real contribution that would become one of the largest private donations made to CAC Kentucky in the organization’s history.

In the months that followed Amanda became a close friend of the CAC Kentucky coalition and embarked on a journey to tour all 15 centers with her sister Summer.  Amanda could have used the funds in the GOFUNDME account to support her hike on the appalachian trail, however, instead spent more nights in a hammock, ate more ramin noodles and cultivated a philanthropic heart that helped generate thousands of dollars to provide critical services to child victims of abuse.  CAC Kentucky is grateful for this tremendous individual who helped restore our belief in the generosity of donors who with one voice can make a big impact.