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The Daily Tar Heel

Editorial: Individual acts of generosity can lead to institutional change

Crossing guard Joann Isom hugs UNC junior Carlos Salas after receiving money raised via GoFundMe for Isom to take a trip to visit her son. Salas set up the GoFundMe fundraiser after seeing Isom's story on the Humans of UNC Facebook page.
Crossing guard Joann Isom hugs UNC junior Carlos Salas after receiving money raised via GoFundMe for Isom to take a trip to visit her son. Salas set up the GoFundMe fundraiser after seeing Isom's story on the Humans of UNC Facebook page.

Last week the Tar Heel community sent a well-loved crossing guard, Joann Isom, to visit her oldest son in Arizona through a GoFundMe campaign when a “Humans of UNC” feature on her went viral on Facebook. 

The donations soared past the $700 dollar goal, reaching $7,700 in a matter of 20 days. The gesture was generous and more than well-deserved. 

The display of community generosity sparked a discussion in the board on the benefits of generating support for an individual as opposed to a group of beneficiaries. 

A campaign centered around one champion — beyond having a huge impact on that person — has the ability to create greater awareness and attention to an issue. 

People relate to more personal stories, and these “Human of” testimonies bring issues that may seem distant closer to home. Helping someone feels good, and it’s easier to achieve on an individual level.

When we focus on one, we tend to forget the many. 

This is not to suggest that GoFundMe fundraisers are wrong in any way or that we should cease their practice altogether. We do, however, want to bring to attention the host of other issues we blur when we concentrate all of our support and attention to single stories. 

We feel good, pat ourselves on the back and move on. Often, the bigger picture at hand is overlooked. 

How many of our friends’ campaigns for medical bills have we contributed to? And how is that reflective of our country’s systemic public health issues?

This mentality of support can be detrimental to groups and issues that require more than the feel-good GoFundMe campaign. They need awareness, advocacy and resources. 

We can love and support Joann and demand better conditions for all UNC workers. 

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