<div>My name is Bree Ladd, and I’m Carter’s aunt.
</div>
<div><br />
</div>
<div>On Friday night (4/17/2026), Carter, Preston, and a group of friends were in Richmond, Missouri lighting fireworks — something many kids do this time of year. After setting off a few normal fireworks, someone brought out another “firework.” It was round, about the size of a baseball, with a short wick, and sounded like it had powder inside when shaken. They were told it was safe.
</div>
<div><br />
</div>
<div>It wasn’t.
</div>
<div><br />
</div>
<div>What they were given was not a firework. From everything we’ve been told, it was essentially a homemade pipe bomb filled with metal shrapnel. The blast was so powerful that neighbors ran outside thinking a house had exploded.
</div>
<div><br />
</div>
<div>Carter lost both of his hands. He has ruptured eardrums and shrapnel injuries throughout his body. He is currently at Children’s Mercy facing multiple surgeries, followed by a long road of physical and emotional healing.
</div>
<div><br />
</div>
<div>His friend Preston was also critically injured. He suffered ruptured eardrums, shrapnel wounds to his eyes, face, arms, and stomach, and severe trauma to his hands, including the loss of a thumb. His eyes were filled with blood and debris, and doctors are still unable to fully assess the damage. He currently has a breathing tube in place due to the severity of his injuries and pain. He cannot see right now and is struggling to communicate.
</div>
<div><br />
</div>
<div>The surgeon shared that these are the kinds of injuries often seen in war zones.
</div>
<div><br />
</div>
<div>These boys are alive — and we are beyond thankful for that — but their lives will never be the same. The road ahead is long, painful, and uncertain.
</div>
<div><br />
</div>
<div>Please keep Carter and Preston in your prayers. Pray for healing, strength, peace, and for the doctors caring for them.
</div>
<div><br />
</div>
<div>We initially shared both Jamie Grabowski’s (Carter’s mom) and Cindy Teegarden’s (Preston’s mom) Venmo accounts so people could donate directly. We understand there is hesitation these days because of scams, and we completely respect that. If you have any questions about whether the links are legitimate, please feel free to reach out to me directly. If you feel comfortable donating through Venmo, that support is deeply appreciated.
</div>
<div><br />
</div>
<div>Carter and Preston have both expressed that they would like all donations to be split 50/50 between them. Our hope is to lift these boys up and surround them with the love and support this community is known for.
</div>
<div><br />
</div>
<div>Fundraisers will also be taking place once the boys are home, and I will share those details as soon as plans are finalized.
</div>
<div><br />
</div>
<div>And please — talk to your kids. Make sure they understand that not everything labeled a “firework” is safe.
</div>
<div><br />
</div>
<div>This should have never happened. 
</div>

Robin Michael

Melanie Fitchett

Dory Kennedy

Julie Hanley

Donna Nichols

Anonymous

Rhonda Holland

Sarah Guthrie

Mike Denehy

Rene Kuhnhoff

Jennifer Ebert

John Golway

Ernest Young

Kathleen Engman

Julie Quick

Allison Mills

Jennifer Rubio

Standing Strong with Carter & Preston

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

Standing Strong with Carter & Preston

Still $1,480 to go. Help us build momentum.