{"id":6587,"date":"2025-10-18T15:52:02","date_gmt":"2025-10-18T15:52:02","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/freshstoryes.lol\/?p=6587"},"modified":"2025-10-18T15:52:29","modified_gmt":"2025-10-18T15:52:29","slug":"taylor-swift-donates-100k-to-young-fan-battling-cancer-sending-the-biggest-hug","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/freshstoryes.lol\/?p=6587","title":{"rendered":"Taylor Swift Donates $100K to Young Fan Battling Cancer: &#8216;Sending the Biggest Hug&#8217;"},"content":{"rendered":"<div class=\"loc article-header\">\n<div id=\"people-article-header_1-0\" class=\"comp people-article-header mntl-article-header\">\n<p class=\"article-subheading text-utility-300\">On Friday, Oct. 17, the musician made a $100,000 donation via GoFundMe to the parents of a toddler with brain cancer<\/p>\n<p class=\"article-subheading text-utility-300\">Charlotte Phillipp is a Weekend Writer-Reporter at PEOPLE. She has been working at PEOPLE since 2024, and was previously an entertainment reporter at The Messenger<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"loc article-content\">\n<figure id=\"figure-article_1-0\" class=\"comp figure-article mntl-universal-primary-image right-rail__offset text-utility-100 figure-landscape primary-image\">\n<div class=\"primary-image__media\">\n<div class=\"img-placeholder\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"primary-image__image mntl-primary-image--blurry loaded\" src=\"https:\/\/people.com\/thmb\/V1zsDtM-i21zNm4sBF3M8pKqsvs=\/1500x0\/filters:no_upscale():max_bytes(150000):strip_icc():focal(742x254:744x256):format(webp)\/Lilah-Taylor-Swift-101725-37d0e60e8b264d36b41bda04c8a17f3c.jpg\" sizes=\"auto, 750px\" srcset=\"https:\/\/people.com\/thmb\/tsENUZRP82ZIsu8MjZPANaX8Yoo=\/750x0\/filters:no_upscale():max_bytes(150000):strip_icc():focal(742x254:744x256):format(webp)\/Lilah-Taylor-Swift-101725-37d0e60e8b264d36b41bda04c8a17f3c.jpg 750w\" alt=\"Lilah; Taylor Swift\" width=\"1500\" height=\"1000\" \/><\/div>\n<\/div><figcaption id=\"primary-image__figcap_1-0\" class=\"comp primary-image__figcap mntl-figure-caption figure-article-caption\"><span class=\"figure-article-caption-text\">Swift made a quiet donation to a 2-year-old girl named Lilah, who was diagnosed with stage 4 brain cancer.<\/span><span class=\"figure-article-caption-owner\">Credit :\u00a0<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<div id=\"article-content_1-0\" class=\"comp article-content mntl-block\">\n<div id=\"mntl-sc-page_1-0\" class=\"comp mntl-sc-page mntl-block structured-content\" data-sc-sticky-offset=\"90\" data-sc-ad-label-height=\"24\" data-sc-ad-track-spacing=\"100\" data-sc-min-track-height=\"250\" data-sc-max-track-height=\"600\" data-sc-breakpoint=\"50em\" data-sc-load-immediate=\"4\" data-sc-content-positions=\"[1, 1250, 1550, 1950, 2350, 2750, 3150, 3550, 3950]\" data-bind-scroll-on-start=\"true\">\n<div id=\"mntl-sc-block_1-0\" class=\"comp mntl-sc-block people-sc-block-callout mntl-sc-block-universal-callout theme-needtoknow\" data-tracking-id=\"mntl-sc-block-callout\" data-tracking-container=\"true\">\n<h3 class=\"mntl-sc-block-universal-callout__heading\">NEED TO KNOW<\/h3>\n<div class=\"mntl-sc-block-universal-callout__body\">\n<ul>\n<li>Taylor Swift made a quiet donation to the parents of a 2-year-old girl named Lilah, who was diagnosed with stage 4 cancer<\/li>\n<li>On Oct. 17, the musician made a $100,000 donation via GoFundMe to Lilah, following a TikTok from her mother showing off the toddler&#8217;s love for Swift<\/li>\n<li>&#8220;Sending the biggest hug to my friend, Lilah!&#8221; Swift captioned her GoFundMe donation<\/li>\n<li><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p id=\"mntl-sc-block_2-0\" class=\"comp mntl-sc-block mntl-sc-block-html\"><a href=\"https:\/\/people.com\/tag\/taylor-swift\/\" data-component=\"link\" data-source=\"inlineLink\" data-type=\"internalLink\" data-ordinal=\"1\">Taylor Swift<\/a>\u00a0is helping out a young fan in need.<\/p>\n<p id=\"mntl-sc-block_4-0\" class=\"comp mntl-sc-block mntl-sc-block-html\">On Friday, Oct. 17, the pop star, 35,\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.gofundme.com\/f\/stand-by-lilah-in-her-cancer-fight\" rel=\"nofollow\" data-component=\"link\" data-source=\"inlineLink\" data-type=\"externalLink\" data-ordinal=\"1\">made a quiet donation<\/a>\u00a0to the parents of a 2-year-old girl named Lilah, who was diagnosed with stage 4 cancer after suffering a seizure at just 18 months old.<\/p>\n<p id=\"mntl-sc-block_6-0\" class=\"comp mntl-sc-block mntl-sc-block-html\">Lilah&#8217;s mom Katelynn Smoot has shared her daughter&#8217;s story on social media for months, and the toddler&#8217;s family has been fundraising for her treatment\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.gofundme.com\/f\/stand-by-lilah-in-her-cancer-fight\" rel=\"nofollow\" data-component=\"link\" data-source=\"inlineLink\" data-type=\"externalLink\" data-ordinal=\"1\">via GoFundMe<\/a>\u00a0since March.<\/p>\n<p id=\"mntl-sc-block_8-0\" class=\"comp mntl-sc-block mntl-sc-block-html\">Swift came into the picture just last week, when Katelynn shared a video to her TikTok account \u2014 dubbed &#8220;Stand with Lilah&#8221; \u2014 showing how her 2-year-old called the &#8220;Life of a Showgirl&#8221; singer her &#8220;friend&#8221; while watching a video of Swift on her iPad.<\/p>\n<p id=\"mntl-sc-block_10-0\" class=\"comp mntl-sc-block mntl-sc-block-html\">&#8220;This might be my fault,&#8221; Katelynn joked in the caption of the Oct. 8 video, which also featured footage of the mom-of-two pregnant with Lilah while attending Swift&#8217;s Eras Tour.<\/p>\n<p id=\"mntl-sc-block_14-0\" class=\"comp mntl-sc-block mntl-sc-block-html\">&#8220;Lilah&#8217;s name was originally going to be Willow,&#8221; the proud mom continued, referencing Swift&#8217;s 2020 track by the same name. &#8220;We were set on that name my whole pregnancy but ultimately ended on Lilah.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p id=\"mntl-sc-block_16-0\" class=\"comp mntl-sc-block mntl-sc-block-html\">&#8220;I listened to Taylor my whole pregnancy and then birthed a mini Swiftie. Lilah loves Taylor\u2019s music and during her cancer treatment she always found joy in it,&#8221; Katelynn continued. &#8220;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.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p id=\"mntl-sc-block_18-0\" class=\"comp mntl-sc-block mntl-sc-block-html\">According to the GoFundMe page, Lilah&#8217;s form of brain cancer is extremely rare and aggressive, as only 58 known cases were documented documented in the U.S. last year.<\/p>\n<p id=\"mntl-sc-block_20-0\" class=\"comp mntl-sc-block mntl-sc-block-html\">Although the toddler has already had a mass removed from her brain and recovered from the surgery well, Lilah&#8217;s treatment still includes three months of chemotherapy, three months of stem cell treatment and some proton radiation, which will require her to stay at a hospital for four weeks at a time and to travel several hours away to a children&#8217;s hospital.<\/p>\n<div id=\"mntl-sc-block_22-0\" class=\"comp mntl-sc-block people-sc-block-spotlight--mid-circ mntl-sc-block-spotlight--mid-circ mntl-block\"><\/div>\n<p id=\"mntl-sc-block_26-0\" class=\"comp mntl-sc-block mntl-sc-block-html\">After just over a week, Katelynn&#8217;s heartfelt video seemingly made its way to Swift, and on Friday, Oct. 17, the musician made a $100,000 donation on GoFundMe.<\/p>\n<p id=\"mntl-sc-block_28-0\" class=\"comp mntl-sc-block mntl-sc-block-html\">&#8220;Sending the biggest hug to my friend, Lilah!&#8221; she wrote underneath her donation. &#8220;Love, Taylor.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p id=\"mntl-sc-block_30-0\" class=\"comp mntl-sc-block mntl-sc-block-html\">Katelynn, Lilah and the rest of the family were immediately ecstatic, as the donation brought them nearly $60,000 over their $100,000 fundraising goal.<\/p>\n<p id=\"mntl-sc-block_34-0\" class=\"comp mntl-sc-block mntl-sc-block-html\">In a video shared on Friday, Katelynn wrote that the donation would allow them to &#8220;just focus on being here with our girl.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p id=\"mntl-sc-block_36-0\" class=\"comp mntl-sc-block mntl-sc-block-html\">&#8220;Is this real life?&#8221; she captioned the heartfelt video, which featured herself and Lilah dancing to Swift&#8217;s new track &#8220;The Fate of Ophelia.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p id=\"mntl-sc-block_38-0\" class=\"comp mntl-sc-block mntl-sc-block-html\">&#8220;Thank you so so much @taylorswift. I am in shock,&#8221; Katelynn continued. &#8220;This means so much to us. I can\u2019t express in words how incredibly grateful we are. Tyler [Lilah&#8217;s father] and I can just focus on our baby girl and being together as a family.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p id=\"mntl-sc-block_40-0\" class=\"comp mntl-sc-block mntl-sc-block-html\">The sweet video also featured Lilah thanking the pop star \u2014 and once again calling her &#8220;my friend.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p id=\"mntl-sc-block_42-0\" class=\"comp mntl-sc-block mntl-sc-block-html\">&#8220;I can\u2019t stop crying. You have given us such a beautiful gift,&#8221; Katelynn added. &#8220;Thank you \u2764\ufe0f\u2764\ufe0f\u2764\ufe0f\u2764\ufe0f.&#8221;<\/p>\n<figure id=\"mntl-sc-block_44-0\" class=\"comp mntl-sc-block people-sc-block-image mntl-sc-block-image mntl-sc-block-image--no-theme no-theme figure-portrait figure-high-res\">\n<div class=\"figure-media\"><\/div>\n<\/figure>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>On Friday, Oct. 17, the musician made a $100,000 donation via GoFundMe to the parents of a toddler with brain cancer Charlotte Phillipp is a Weekend Writer-Reporter at PEOPLE. She has been working at&#46;&#46;&#46;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":6590,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-6587","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/freshstoryes.lol\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6587","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/freshstoryes.lol\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/freshstoryes.lol\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/freshstoryes.lol\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/freshstoryes.lol\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=6587"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/freshstoryes.lol\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6587\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":6591,"href":"https:\/\/freshstoryes.lol\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6587\/revisions\/6591"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/freshstoryes.lol\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/6590"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/freshstoryes.lol\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=6587"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/freshstoryes.lol\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=6587"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/freshstoryes.lol\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=6587"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}