Quaden Bayles’ Family Is Giving Back Thousands to Charity

Quaden Bayles and his mom went viral last week with a video highlighting the bullying Quaden, who has dwarfism, faces each day. The video pulled at the heartstrings of so many people; a GoFundMe was started that raised nearly $500,000, and then controversy started to follow. Social media users were skeptical of the family, but now Quaden and his mom are giving the money back to charity, but are they keeping any of it? Here are the details.

On Thursday, Brad Williams, the US comedian who started the GoFundMe for the Bayles’ family, who live in Australia, released a media statement to address the concerns over where all the extra money raised in the GoFundMe would go since it raised more than enough to cover a trip to Disneyland.

“From the bottom of my heart, I thank each and every one of you across the world who have donated, shared, and supported this verified GoFundMe to put a stop to bullying and to help a young man in need,” the release stated.

“The goal of this campaign continues to be in helping Quaden and others across the US and Australia, who are impacted by bullying and discrimination through the work of several charities.”

The Bayles’ family also went to their local media in Australia to address the GoFundMe and their plans for the raised money. The Bayles family thanked everyone for their support on NITV News in Australia, before sharing that they will not accept the trip to Disneyland or keep any of the cash for themselves.

“We want the money to go to community organizations that really need it,” Quaden’s aunt, Mundanara Bayles, told the Australian news station. “They know what the money should be spent on, so as much as we want to go to Disneyland, I think our community would far off benefit from that.”

The statement released by Williams outlines six different charities that will each receive “approximately $66,000 USD” in donations from the money raised by the GoFundMe account. “We need to come together and work out how to make sure young people like Quaden don’t have to deal with what they have been dealing with,” Mundanara Bayles said.

The release from Williams gives information on where one could request a refund for the money they donated to the GoFundMe, since it was initially started to send the family to Disneyland, if they are not pleased that they declined the trip. “Bullies never win, and this fundraising effort shows that when bullies attack, communities stand proudly for what’s right,” the release says.

At this time, the families disappeared social media accounts, which also caused some concern and controversy, are back online, with mom, Yarraka Bayles’ account visible, and Quaden’s set to private. It doesn’t sound like the Bayles’ family is keeping any of the money that was raised for themselves. Not sure if this will help ease the minds of people on social media who were questioning the family or not.