Over the past couple of weeks, our office as I’m sure many offices, had the Boston marathon bombing victims on their minds. Amidst the media buzz and massive amounts of video content that was created and shared during the days following the tragedy, the entire nation got swept up in the drama of it all.

This flood of information seemed to be too much for many people and others complained that the coverage was far too invasive for the victims and their families. News outlets spoke to relatives and friends, reporting on the innermost details of the victims’ private lives, as they struggled to cope with this tragedy.

I was one of these people. I felt that the media had once again taken it too far, prying into the lives of these people dealing with tragedy. Yesterday, I read an article on Bloomberg.com here, that showed the other side of that coin.

As of April 25th, online donations on GoFundMe.com for personal victims topped $2.2 million and the group fund to support victims topped $20 Million. As i visited some of these funding pages, I saw they had videos embedded on their sites -I started watching and couldn’t help but feel compelled to give.

Hearing and seeing a double amputee Marine give advice and encouragement to a victim who had both of her legs blown off was both heartbreaking and heartwarming.

Video gives us this personal view into these people’s lives; people who we would never have known. And although sometime it feels invasive, having an intimate view into their struggle can motivate people into action. According to Bloomberg, on GoFundMe.com alone, more than 36,000 people have donated to help these individuals.

I’m not sure there is a specific moral to the story but it is definitely a bright spot in midst of this tragedy.

Have a great weekend,

Eli