More on KentOnline
More on KentOnline
GoFundMe has provided a platform for people to share inspirational stories that have helped fund life-saving surgeries and make a impact nationwide through short films and documentaries.
But with millions of campaigns to their name and billions of pounds raised, what are the most successful schemes to come out of Kent?
One of the highest amounts raised in one campaign was for a mother-of-four who was diagnosed with an incurable cancer.
The heartbreaking story sadly ended in tragedy as Paula Davis passed away in 2017, with the money raised not enough to help her beat the disease.
She was told she needed immunotherapy, a service which, at the time, was unavailable through the NHS.
To pay for the 12 months worth of treatment Paula and her family faced a bill of £103,000.
Her family, friends, and colleagues from across Kent rallied together and raised an impressive £76,165 through a GoFundMe page organised by Paula herself.
Kirsty Keep, from Maidstone, had been living with Lyme disease for 11 years before she began receiving the treatment she needed.
After being bit by a tick at the age of 12 she continues to live with the her symptoms of chronic pain, fitting, fatigue, and vomiting.
In September 2016 Kirsty's family managed to raise enough money to travel to America for specialist treatment from Dr Rick Sponaugle, a specialist in tickborne diseases.
Unfortunately the family had to return from the USA earlier than planned as her visa had expired and are now fighting to get back to the States.
Her current GoFundMe page is currently on £70,337, not far from the £100,000 target which, if met, would allow the family to travel again and continue the treatment.
In January 2014 Ryan 'Felix' Glenny, from Rochester, lost his battle with bowel cancer.
After being diagnosed with the incurable disease his family and friends did everything they could to support him.
In an attempt to raise money to support his wife and two children his close friend Ashley Clark set up a GoFundMe page.
Even though they fell slightly short of their £75,000 target, they still managed to raise an incredible £60,521.
The highest individual donation received was £600 with the second and third highest being £500 each.
Dr Bob Gill has worked for the NHS for more than 25 years and began to notice how the changes in the system could be leading the healthcare system toward privatisation.
Following the success of his debut project entitled 'Sell off - The Abolition of your NHS', the Kent doctor launched a GoFundMe campaign in aid of his second documentary, 'The Great NHS Heist.'
The feature-length film was launched on November 30 and is now available to stream or download on Vimeo.
The GoFundMe page has raised £35,879 towards the £60,000 total needed to cover the production costs of the film.
Simon, who donated £5, said: "This importance and relevance of this film cannot be understated. It may not just be too late.
"This documentary has the power to make a real difference."
In March 2019 a home in Bean was broken into and set ablaze while the owners, Mark, a serving police officer and his partner, a paramedic, were away visiting family.
The only item in the house that was stolen was their two-year-old daughter's piggy bank – which was found down the road smashed to pieces and empty.
The fire destroyed the majority of the house and all of their possessions, and in a cruel twist of fate the family's home insurance policy had expired 19 hours before the incident meaning they couldn't claim a penny back.
In an attempt to raise some money to help the family for a few weeks, a close friend set up a GoFundMe page with the goal of raising £1,000.
However, with the help of service people and kind-hearted people across the country the final total smashed the target and raised £23,258.
During a time of political disagreement, Mark McGowan, more commonly known as The Artist Taxi Driver, launched a GoFundMe campaign in aid of his year long film project 'JEZZA' the movie.
Mark is well known in Kent after he buried his entire body in sand for 30 hours at a Margate beach in 2008 as part of stunt to encourage people to spend more time on the British coastline.
The film documented the rise of the Labour party leader Jeremy Corbyn through a selection of interviews with journalists, teachers, comedians, writers, firefighters, and activists - pretty much every profession under the sun.
Of course not everyone's first choice for political leader, but the page gained a huge following due to Mark's history as a popular artist/stuntman/lecturer/taxi driver.
It even gained a single donation of £1,000 - from someone who was a clear fan of Corbyn and community film projects.
Mark set an overall target of £15,000 and managed to just tip the scales after raising a total of £15,230 towards the production of the film.
