<div>New York Times readers this week met our friend and Columbia University classmate, the writer Jennifer Steil, through her moving essay: “Dress Rehearsal for a Wedding I’ll Never Attend,” in the Modern Love column.
</div>
<div><br />
</div>
<div>In it, Jennifer shared the story of taking her 15-year-old daughter, Theadora (aka Theo), wedding dress shopping in London — not because a wedding is imminent, but because Jennifer is battling late-stage ovarian cancer. Theo asked for this experience now, while her mother is still here, so that she will always have the memory.
</div>
<div><br />
</div>
<div>They found a dress. A luminous gown that made Theo’s eyes sparkle and her mother’s heart ache with joy and longing. But it was far beyond their means — £2,767 or about $3,800 US Dollars.
</div>
<div><br />
</div>
<div>Jennifer wrote:
</div>
<div><br />
</div>
<div><strong><em>“When she emerged, my eyes filled. She was radiant, a vision of youthful loveliness…. She loved the dress so much I fantasized about buying it, despite the financial impossibility. She has stopped growing, after all. Chances are it will still fit in 15 years.”</em></strong>
</div>
<div><br />
</div>
<div>As Jennifer’s classmates from Columbia Journalism School — and as friends who have been inspired by her words, her courage, and her love for Theo, who we've watched grow up from afar — we want to make this dream possible. This GoFundMe will cover the cost of the dress and ensure that Theo has it for the day in the future that Jennifer will likely miss.
</div>
<div><br />
</div>
<div>Every contribution helps. Whether you were touched by her story as a reader or know Jennifer personally, your gift will help preserve a piece of her legacy: a dress that embodies hope, memory, and a mother’s enduring love.
</div>
<div><br />
</div>
<div>Let’s help Jennifer keep this promise to her daughter.
</div>
<div><br />
</div>
<div>To read more of Jennifer's thoughts on life in the boundaries of our world — "this fertile space between countries, cultures, illness and health, identities, sexualities, religions, languages, and homes" — you can find her newsletter, Liminal with Jennifer Steil, on <a href="https://jennifersteil.substack.com/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Substack</a>.
</div>
<div><br />
</div>
<div>She has also published three books:
</div>
<div><br />
</div>
<div><a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/51916791-exile-music" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Exile Music</a> (2020), a novel
</div>
<div><a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/25336078-the-ambassador-s-wife?ref=nav_sb_ss_3_21" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">The Ambassador's Wife</a> (2015), a novel, and
</div>
<div><a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/8332435-the-woman-who-fell-from-the-sky?ref=nav_sb_ss_2_31" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">The Woman Who Fell From the Sky</a> (2010) a memoir.
</div>
<div><br />
</div>
<div>I'm based in the U.S. and am an informal representative/point person for our graduate school class. We shared Jennifer's piece via email and quickly decided we wanted to help. All funds will be sent directly to Jennifer in France via international wire transfer.
</div>

Anonymous

Marian Cullen-Verclytte

Nina de Gramont

Paul Uline

Nadia Malinovich

Thomas Lavin

JEN GERARD

Hollie Allen

Catherine Sherwood

Joshua Weinberg

Thomas Fuller

Lauren Montagne

Randy Showstack

Arlen Schweiger

Arik Hesseldahl

Mavis Scanlon

Help Jennifer Fulfill a Promise to Her Daughter

platform

Platform is iOS

Android

Adyen Google Pay Development Audience

$opt_dummy_attribute

English only

Deprecate Stripe Legacy

dyn_template_ids

Adyen V6 Bene Transfer & MyMoney Campaign Organizers - test01

Bene transfer V6 and AdyenV6MyMoney Campaign Organizers - production

OneTrust next-app audience

fundCountryCode

NextDoor Share Option Users

Fundraisers with Reactions feature capability

fundCurrencyCode

US + Non-charity COs Only

locale

fund country is US and user language is English

personId

comms-internal-person-ids

Enhanced Story Experience Users

Suggested Goal Experience Users

user language is English and fund country: US, AU, DK, FI, IE, NO, SE, CA, GB; 

Poster share - new funds eligible (newest 9/18)

Streaming widgets beta user

paymentProcessor

3DS payment method

user language is English and fundCountry: US, AU, DK, FI, IE, NO, SE, CA, GB; 

currencyCode

Money Box Donation List Prompt Experiment Audience

GoFundMe Employees

ipAddress

Mark Rieth IP Address

Version 9.2.0 and above

Fund is in English speaking country

desktop

Android v12.11.0 and above

Platform is Android

paymentMethodType

checkoutType

Payment method type group to be vaulted on success

admin pr kit prod

EUR Donation Upsell

Share Text generation Skip Fundraiser

(prod) new funds eligible for amp12 (UGC gallery)

fintrac_cad_idv_form_v2 audience

paymentProcessorAccountId

fallback mode accounts

proCampaignId

p2p legacy startfundraising page

AMP24 New Funds Only PROD (DO NOT MODIFY)

countryCode

charityId

UKCharities

Federated Search Internal Testing

route.pathname community

US Donation Upsell audience 

Auto Thanks Feature Audience

Supporter Comments Eligible Funds

International Only

fundId

braze fundraiser group 

Payment Identity Transfers ATO Risk Check (Targeted) - Production

Fundraiser Saved Payment Method Rate Limit Bypass (Production)

leaderboard-partner-id-audience-givepanel

Version 9.2.1 and above

AUD Donation Upsell audience

fundraiserCountryCode is US/EN

Active Fundraiser - Smart Default Cadence

DAF Internal

Vault on success card payment method

Platform is iOS v11.0.0 and above

Desktop users

Person ids

United States (US) users

allow yuno fundraisers for test

Mexico country code

Posters INTL

NPO Profile Opted-In

iOS at or above 12.4.0

non-US recurring donors

Canada Campaign Owner Group

Fundraiser Without Meta Link

Scheduler payment tester gorup

charityCommunityId

Charities allow to be claimed unclaimed (PRD)

Canada (CA) users

UC Tipping v20250115 International

pymk_production_xplr_fe_team

Android at or above 12.2.0

Profile photo entry point audience

smart goals (fundraiser/manage) on test01

Activity Tracking v1 Beta Testing

start gfm intl allowed locales

Platform is iOS v11.2.0 and above

NPO upsell education category

unclaimed charities

prod_ach_audience

AI Chatbot Audience

amp13 only new funds (prod) (anyword auto)

UC Flow Enabled (Prod)

Payment Identity Beneficiary Verification - Production

shared notification bell audience

Custom users

ach frontend audience

Android v11.0.0 and above

Users Receiving Payments Paused Notifications

smart goals test01

Manage Coach - US English Organizers Only + new funds only

Team EGG - IP Address list

NPO recommendations prod

Fundraiser Without Instagram Deep Link

Native 11.4.0 and above

UC Tipping v20250107

Users Receiving Braze KYC Validation Failed

Native 11.3.0 and above

ai_title_page

anyword

openai

control

manual_entry

userEmail

template_id

userId

fundUrl

isCharityCo

email

appVersion

shouldBucketIntoExperiment

partnerId

donationCadence

isActiveFundraiser

isPartner

isMobile

npoProfileOptIn

fundIsLinkedWithMeta

hasSessionDonation

categoryGroup

isCampaignOwner

fundHasInstagramDeepLink

Native 11.4.0 and higher

New funds eligible - Video Sharing (PROD)

GB Donation Upsell audience 

Auto Thanks V3 Rollout Audience

Thank you V3 testing whitelist

isRecurringFriendly

Is Recurring Friendly

Excluded funds - Video Sharing

NPO upsell animals category

NPO upsell disaster relief category

Logged In Users

CH Donation Upsell audience

Android v10.6.0 and above

NPO upsell essential needs category

NPO upsell medical category

userCurrencyCode

Localized Currency

NPO upsell cancer category

v11.5.0 and above

testAudience

pathname

Survicate

appVersion is at or above 12.8.0

Non-charity fund

isChallengeFundraiser

challenge-fundraisers

Payment Identity Launch Verification - Production

New funds eligible - Posters v2

CAD Donation Upsell Audience

Braze Email Tester

NPO Profile Opted-Out

iOS App Version

hasKnownDonors

PYMK has donors

iOS v12.3.0 and above

Help Jennifer Fulfill a Promise to Her Daughter

Still $1,195 to go. Help us build momentum.