Taylor Swift Donates 100k to Fan Battling Brain Cancer

Pop superstar Taylor Swift has once again proven her incredible generosity by donating $100,000 to a family whose 2 year-old daughter, Lilah, had been diagnosed with an aggressive form of brain cancer. The donation, which was made via the family's GoFundMe page, helped to reach and surpass the fundraising goal of $100K. The donation also brought plenty of attention to the little girl’s battle, and created a new wave of support from fans around the world.

Lilah’s mother, Katelynn Smoot, had been posting her daughter’s treatment journey on social media before the Cruel Summer singer noticed her. In an emotional clip posted on October 8 on TikTok, Katelynn showed a video in which Lilah watched Swift. Katelynn had also posted a viral clip of her attending Swift’s Eras tour while pregnant with Lilah.

Just over a week later, on October 17, Swift made the substantial donation of $100,000 to Lilah’s GoFundMe page, and along with it a note that read, "Sending the biggest hug to my friend, Lilah!" The donation helped push the total past the GoFundMe fundraising goal of $100,000 by over $60,000. Lilah’s family was ecstatic and expressed huge gratitude for the donation. "I can't express in words how incredibly grateful we are." Katelynn Smoot said in a later video post. The act of kindness is not an isolated instance in the life of the international pop star, but another good deed in a long and consistent history of making such donations.

A Legacy of Giving

Taylor Swift has a legacy of giving, especially when natural disasters have struck. In 2023, she donated $1 million to the Middle Tennessee Emergency Relief Fund. The fund aided people affected by devastating tornadoes.

Education and the arts are also among causes close to Swift's heart. In 2012, the pop star made a sizeable $4 million donation to the Country Music Hall of Fame, which led to the establishment of the Taylor Swift Education Center. The center is a state of the art facility that provides educational opportunities to young people interested in music and arts. Swift’s commitment to education was also seen through another charitable act when she donated about 6,000 books to the Reading Public Library in 2011. The library is in her home state of Pennsylvania. She also donated $50,000 to New York Public Schools in 2015 and pledged future royalties from her song "Welcome to New York" to the public school system.

A Helping Hand for Those in Need

In addition to making contributions to organizations, Swift has a long-documented history of providing direct help to many individuals and families in times of need. In 2018, she donated $15,500 to the GoFundMe pages of a family whose mother was suffering from a life-threatening illness. She and her mother Andrea, also donated $50,000 to a Tennessee family after they lost their father to COVID-19. The loss happened just before Christmas in 2020. More recently, Swift donated $100,000 to the family of Lisa Lopez-Galvan. Lisa was tragically killed in the shooting at the Kansas City Chiefs' victory parade.

During her recent Eras Tour, Swift made a point to give back to the underprivileged communities in the cities she visited with a particular focus on combating hunger. The artist has donated to food banks that included the Second Harvest of Silicon Valley and the Feeding Tampa Bay food banks. As such, Swift's donations have provided thousands of meals to people affected by food insecurity and called attention to the important issue.

The singer’s good deeds often inspire her enormous group of fans, called Swifties. For example, her donation to Lilah prompted droves of fans to start making their contributions to the child’s GoFundMe.