Four summers ago, I travelled across the U.S. South for a series of interviews for my YouTube channel.
Just outside Charleston, West Virginia, the final city on this tour, I encountered Carrie walking alongside the road. Disheveled and visibly upset about something, I pulled up and offered her a ride.
She shared her story of struggle as we drove around trying to locate her teenage son. This family drama was just one detail in a hard life within a suffering community. Repossessed home, disabled children, issues with domestic abuse and addiction—it seemed an accumulation of all the difficulties we hear about from this part of the country.
Since its release, this interview video has gathered almost a million views. With these views has come over $1000 in ad revenue. Then this past fall, while talking with a business mentor over lunch about ideas for nonprofit work, it hit me that this money should go to Carrie.
I reached out to the leads I had—people who've commented on my video claiming to know Carrie.
No luck.
So, I’ve decided to just go out there and look for her myself.
I leave today.
It's all up in the air: whether I find her, how she's doing, whether she'll want to speak with me, (and how should I present the money?)
Here is Carrie’s first video:
Perhaps there'll be a second.
I’ll keep you updated.