DUNWOODY, Ga. — One little boy is making a big difference for Children's Healthcare of Atlanta.
Before Alexander Baker turned 10, he told his mom instead of gifts, he'd like people to donate to Children's.
"Extremely proud, I almost cried," said his mom, Cat Baker. "He just showed me how big of a heart he has."
Over the past seven years, Alex has had to go to Children's a few different times with Croup. He was first diagnosed when he was three years old.
"For us as parents, that was the most frightful one because he was so young, and we, at that point, didn’t know what it was," Cat said.
Alex’s most recent bout happened a year ago.
"On the way there, I thought I was going to die because I couldn’t breathe. I had to stick my head out the window to get the air," he said.
That's why, for his birthday, he wanted to give back.
"I wanted to help kids that have my problem so they can get better faster than I did," he said with a smile.
Alex raised $95, a donation that didn’t go unnoticed.
"He is someone I aspire to be," said Emily Crowley, the senior program coordinator at the Children's Foundation. "I feel like I have so much to learn from him. I feel like a lot of people have something to learn from him. He's 10 years old and has a heart of gold. He's learning philanthropy. He's spreading kindness. He's inspiring the Atlanta community."
Unknown to the Baker family, the fundraising platform they used, Pledge, was trying to raise $100 million for more than 50,000 nonprofits and charities around the world. Alex’s birthday donation made Pledge hit that mark.
"And it was almost like the bell rang for $100 million with Alex’s birthday party," Cat said.
Because of that milestone, the people at Pledge decided to surprise Alex with a gift of their own, adding $2,500 to his initial donation.
"It made me cry happy tears," the boy said of the gesture.
Pledge said it opened Alex's fundraising goal up to the public. As of Wednesday morning, he's now raised $2,700.
"All because of Alex's generosity," said Crowley. "So not only is that benefitting the staff here at Children's, but it's also really inspiring the community to get involved."
Pledge said if people want to help, they can ALEX to 707070 to donate directly to Children's.