The Justin Bieber Problem, Pope Francis Dead at 88 from Stroke, & A New Pete Hegseth Scandal
PDS Published 04/21/2025
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Pope Francis is dead at 88-years-old.
And we gotta talk about what happened, what happens next, and what it all means.
But starting with his passing, we can’t say this came as a total shock.
Right, he’d only been out of the hospital for about a month after spending five weeks there and nearly dying from a case of double pneumonia.
With his doctors reportedly telling him to take it easy for at least two months – and to avoid crowds and situations where he could be exposed to germs.
Though, notably, by early April, his health had reportedly begun to improve, and Francis? Who was already known for putting the Church above his health?
He seemingly wasn't taking it all that easy, at least for an 88-year-old man.
Right, earlier this month, he made an unexpected visit to St. Peter’s Basilica.
Last week, he greeted hospital and other medical staff to thank them for nursing him back to health.
And Thursday, which was Holy Thursday for Catholics, he met with dozens of inmates in a prison near the Vatican.
And on top of that, he had been gradually increasing his meetings with Vatican officials, recently meeting with the King and Queen of the UK.
As well as yesterday meeting briefly with American Vice President JD Vance before appearing to bless the tens of thousands gathered in St. Peter’s Square for Easter Mass.
And with all that, just yesterday, you had many outlets speaking of his continuing or ongoingrecovery.
Which is why despite knowing how fragile his health was, it was pretty sudden when the Vatican announced that at 7:35 this morning, the Pope had, quote, “returned to the house of the Father.”
And with that, mourners began gathering back in St. Peters Square, and you had leaders all around the world offering their condolences – including from the US, of course.
With JD Vance, for example, who was baptized as a Catholic in 2019, paying tribute to the pope in a post to X, writing:
“My heart goes out to the millions of Christians all over the world who loved him.”
“I was happy to see him yesterday, though he was obviously very ill. But I’ll always remember him for the below homily he gave in the very early days of COVID. It was really quite beautiful.”
“May God rest his soul.” []
And with that, you also had Trump writing on Truth Social "Rest in Peace Pope Francis! May God Bless him and all who loved him!” []
Though, notably, with that, Francis had openly and repeatedly criticized Trump.
As far back as 2016, for example, questioning then candidate Trump’s faith, saying:
"...a person who thinks only about building walls... and not of building bridges, is not Christian.” []
And then, more recently, you had Francis referring to Trump's plans to ramp up deportations as a "disgrace” –
Also claiming his immigration crackdown was driving a “major crisis” that “damages the dignity of men and women.”
And beyond that, while the plight and wellbeing of migrants was a major focus of Francis, he had been described by some as the “Woke Pope” for his RELATIVELY progressive views on other issues including gender, sexuality, conflict, and climate change.
Right, with his most controversial moves among Catholics probably being to express support for the LGBTQ community and same-sex civil unions.
As well as taking steps to improve the gender balance in the Church, increasing the number of women working at the Vatican, including those in leadership positions.
And with all that, Francis’s tenure is widely seen as having deepened divisions within the Catholic Church in general, and perhaps especially in the United States (1, 2, 3).
And so now the question everyone’s asking this time around is whether the person who succeeds him will be someone interested in preserving his legacy and continuing his work? Or unraveling it?
And even if you’re not Catholic, the answer to the question isn’t something to ignore.
Right, there are roughly 1.4 billion Catholics around the world, at least 50 million in the U.S., and the Pope? He has real influence.
And with that, we should talk about what exactly Francis’s influence has been.
Right, while he may be the wokest pope yet, that’s by Pope standards.
Right, he never went so far as to endorse same-sex marriage or the idea of women being priests, with some feeling he never went far enough with his calls for reform.
And then, notably, on the issue of rampant child abuse in the Church? He got mixed reviews.
Right, on one hand, a few years ago, he announced sweeping changes to the way the church deals with cases of sexual abuse.
But more recently, he’d been accused of opposing reforms that would seriously address the problem of clerical sexual abuse of children and vulnerable adults –
While also “turning a blind eye” to priests who assault nuns and force them to have abortions.[]
And similarly, while he urged all members of the Church to never cover up sexual abuse?
He himself was accused of having knowledge of allegations against American Cardinal Theodore McCarrick.
With a Vatican investigation eventually finding he had been aware of allegations and rumors regarding McCarrick’s behavior, but believed those allegations had been “reviewed and rejected” by his predecessors.
But with all that, his fiercest critics?
The conservatives and traditionalists.
Right, with some claiming he’d abandoned traditions, undermined the Church’s moral teachings, and one archbishop even branding him a heretic and getting excommunicated.
And in another case, you had hundreds of priests and Catholic scholars signing an open letter urging him to reverse his decision to approve blessings to be conferred upon people in same-sex relationships.
Notably, with Francis firing back back, denouncing what he described as their ‘hypocrisy’ and saying:
“Nobody gets scandalized if I give my blessings to a businessman who perhaps exploits people, and this is a very grave sin. But they get scandalized if I give them to a homosexual.” []
And with that, notably, Francis was at times especially at odds with Catholics in the U.S.
In 2023, for example, Francis blasting what he said was the “backwardness” of some conservatives in the States – saying they had replaced faith with ideology and that a correct understanding of Catholic doctrine allows for change over time.
And then, even as he has criticized Trump, some Catholic leadership in the U.S. have seemingly sided with MAGA.
In 2021, for example, some Bishops issued guidance that would deny the sacrament of Communion to Catholic politicians who publicly support and advance abortion rights, such as Joe Biden.
And although they mostly backed off after the Vatican warned against using the Eucharist as a political weapon – with Francis preaching that communion “is not the reward of saints, but the bread of sinners’ – some still defied him.
The Archbishop of San Francisco, saying specifically that Nancy Pelosi would not be permitted to receive communion in his archdiocese unless she was willing to “publicly repudiate” her stance on abortion.
And now, in Trump 2.0, we’ve seen leading bishops applauding the administration’s initiatives supporting school choice, rolling back federal support for gender transitions, and requiring foreign agencies receiving U.S. aid to certify that they don’t provide or promote abortion.
And with all this, you have some saying the Trump administration isn’t above trying to steer the papal election in its favor.
With one observer of Vatican politics telling Politico:
“They’ve already influenced European politics, they’d have no problem influencing the conclave.”[]
“They might be looking for someone less confrontational.”
Of course, that said, it’s not clear exactly how the administration would manage that.
But it’d be a mistake to say the process of selecting a new pope isn’t political.
Right, as you may know, the way it works is that within the next 15 to 20 days or so, the more than 250 members of what is known as the College of Cardinals will gather in Rome for what is known as a Conclave.
With only those under eighty years of age being allowed to vote.
Right, they enter the Sistine Chapel, they swear an oath of secrecy, and they vote on by secret ballot.
A two-thirds majority is needed to elect a new pope.
And they just vote again and again until this two-thirds majority emerges.
After every vote, smoke is released through a chimney that can be seen from St. Peter’s Square.
If a vote ends without a two-thirds majority, the smoke is black (BROLL: 0:50-0:53)
When a decision is reached, the smoke is white (BROLL: 0:00-0:03)
But really, there’s a lot more to it than that.
Right, for one, Francis did all he could to influence the eventual outcome before he died, seemingly trying to pack the College of Cardinals with like-minded candidates.
Take Mykola Bychok (My-coal-uh Boo-chalk), for example, an Australian-based Ukrainian bishop who advocated for legislation to help migrants and refugees settle in foreign countries.
And last year, at 44-years-old, he leapfrogged more experienced and higher-profile Catholic leaders to become the world’s youngest cardinal.
Making him one of 138 cardinals out of 252 in total eligible to vote for the next Pope.
Notably, with 110 of them having been appointed by Francis – about 80 per cent. []
But even with that, experts say it’s far from certain we’ll get another Francis.
With Austin Ivereigh (Ivory), who has written a biography of the now-deceased Pope, saying:[]
“To say he has stacked the College of Cardinals is not quite right.”
“The idea that these cardinals will necessarily think like Francis is complete nonsense, it’s trite. They’re highly intelligent people who think for themselves.”
And it’s not just that either.
Right, the Vatican is also no stranger to lobbying and backroom dealings.
For example, while those older Cardinals can’t vote? Far fewer of them were appointed by Francis and they can play a key role in behind-closed-doors discussions that take place ahead of time.
In fact, ahead of the 2013 conclave, Francis himself reportedly benefitted from the influence of a group of cardinals who were too old to participate in the proceedings but still were able to influence the outcome.
And notably, at least according to some, the Cardinals? They’re not afraid to play dirty.
With former senior Vatican official telling The Sunday Times:
“Most cardinals have some kind of a sin, whether it’s money, a boyfriend or a love child.”
“Everyone knows which cardinals have works of art that they can’t afford or who visits the gay saunas.”
“If for whatever reason someone needs to be removed from contention then that information is deployed by a rival faction.”[]
And with that, according to The College of Cardinals Report, which is a project run by an independent team of Catholic journalists and researchers, there are at least 22 real contenders.
And on major issues, including those dividing liberals and conservatives like ordaining female deacons, blessing same-sex couples, and openness to divorce and remarriage?
They’re all over the place. []
For example, you have the likes of Cardinals Matteo Zuppi (Zoo-pee) and Luis Antonio Tagle.
Right, Zoo-pee? He was among Francis's closest allies, and so would likely keep things heading in the same direction..
And then, Antonio Tagle? He could be similar as well.
Right, he’s criticised the church’s attitude and language towards gay people, unwed mothers, and divorced or remarried Catholics.
Also, being from the Philippines, he would be the first Asian Pope in modern history.
And I say modern history because, as some have pointed out, the first pope, Saint Peter – as well as some other early popes – have come from the Middle East, which can also be considered Western Asia.
But in any case, it’d be pretty notable to have one from this century, especially since Catholicism is on the rise in many parts of Asia as well as Africa, unlike in the US and Europe.
And with that, another name that's been floated, Cardinal Peter Turkson.
Right, he’s from Ghana, he’d be the first Black African Pope in modern history, and he’s kind of been the Vatican’s lead man on climate change, as well as spoken out against anti-LGTBQ legislation in his home country.
But he also in the past been accused of anti-Muslim sentiment, having once shown a video sharing false statistics to claim that France would become "an Islamic republic" within 39 years.
But with that, there’s also another contender to be the first Black African pope.
That’s Robert Sarah from Guinea.
And his views are very different to say the least.
Right, he’s branded so-called gender ideology as demonic and talked similarly about what he has described as Islamic fanaticism.
And with that, another leading candidate on the conservative side?
It’s Cardinal Peter Erdö (Pete-air Air-do) from Hungary.
Right, he’s notably close to Hungarian autocrat Viktor Orban.
And with that, is unsurprisingly vocal on immigration, reportedly having once compared the act of taking in refugees to human trafficking.
But in any case, finally, you also have someone like Cardinal Pietro Parolin (Pee-etro Pair-oh-lean), who’s now the Vatican secretary of state.
With him being seen as a more moderate figure who could potentially appeal to both liberals and conservatives, with one unnamed Vatican insider reportedly telling The Telegraph:
“He’s very experienced and that could count for a lot in these times of turbulence.”
“He could be seen as a steady hand at the tiller.”[]
But even then there’s more names to consider, with differentoutletspublishing their own lists of top contenders that are all different and include several names I didn’t mention.
So ultimately, we’ll just have to wait and see.
And I gotta pass the question off to you.
What are your thoughts with all this?
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And is it even fair for media outlets to be trying to answer that question?
That is the conversation we have been seeing for a while now, but it took a new shape after Coachella this weekend.
With this video going viral online, showing him smoking at a party at the festival, also swaying and dancing to music, at one point nodding to one of his own songs.
And tons of people have responded to these clips with concern, thinking he just looks out of it, commenting things like:
“I’m sorry but he doesn’t look okay, he’s not just ‘having fun,’ he’s definitely under some hard influence.”
“I’m mad that the people around him are not doing anything.”
“You can see clearly he needs help.”
Over on Twitter, you had people comparing him to other pop stars who have passed, some adding:[]
“someone needs to check up on Justin Bieber man…”[]
And while some defended him, noting every moment of his life is analyzed by people trying to read into every detail,
This is far from the first time in recent months that people have been worried about Justin.
Right, he has been posting kind of cryptic messag es on Instagram calling himself unworthy and unequipped, adding that he feels like he is drowning while also telling people to let go of hate. [][]
In other posts he has talked about having anger issues and sometimes hating himself. ][[]
And he also recently yelled at paparazzi for filming him while in Palm Springs.
And that is just a tiny portion of the behavior people have been reading into lately.
People have also expressed concern about certain paparazzi photos taken of him, which actually led to a rep shooting down rumors about drug use in February, telling TMZ that these claims are:[]
"exhausting and pitiful and shows that despite the obvious truth, people are committed to keeping negative, salacious, harmful narratives alive."
And the thing is, talk about Justin extends well past anonymous social media users endlessly speculating, right, it has reached major industry news outlets.
Just last week, The Hollywood Reporter ran a massive piece titled “Justin Bieber’s Crisis of Faith?”
With that diving into some of Justin’s social media posts as well as other sort of behind-closed-doors matters regarding his business and team and religion.
With that article saying:
“A bitter management shake-up. Angry public outbursts. A “narcissistic” pastor whose word is gospel. What in God’s name is happening to the once-mighty pop icon?”
A former team member also telling the outlet:
“Seeing him disintegrate like this … it’s watching the embodiment of someone not living their purpose. He’s lost. There’s no one protecting him because there’s no one there willing to say no to him. You say no, you get blown out.”
That article also saying Justin still owes money over a cancelled tour from 2022.
Also last week, you had other sources telling People Magazine that people close to Justin are “worried” about him.
But then other outlets, like Rolling Stone, pushing back against media reports that he is not doing well,
Arguing his so-called “vibe shift” indicates a creative change for him as he pays attention to up and coming artists.
And all this has sparked conversations about what the media’s role in talking about Justi n Bieber like this should even be, right.
With the Hollywood Reporter getting some heat online for its deep dive into Justin, with some comparing it to the way media treated Britney Spears and writing:[]
Justin’s reps also shooting down that article, telling People Magazine:
“This is just clickbait stupidity based on unnamed — and clearly ill-informed — ‘sources,’ disappointed that they no longer work with Justin. As Justin forges his own way forward, these unnecessary stories and inaccurate assumptions will continue. But, they won’t deter him from staying committed to following the right path."[]
And so I would love to know your thoughts on this conversation, and where you think this sort of public speculation crosses a line, right?
It’s not the first time we have seen this, right, a few months ago people were also expressing concern for Ariana Grande’s health, with some arguing that constant public commentary might make any issues she was dealing with worse. [][]
Do you think the same kind of concerns apply here, what are your thoughts on any and all aspects to this?
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The Trump admin Signal chat saga is not over!
Right, Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth reportedly shared detailed information about airstrikes in Yemen in a Signal group that included his wife, brother, and personal lawyer.
The same airstrikes discussed in ANOTHER chat that mistakenly included the editor of The Atlantic Jeffery Goldberg.
Strikes, which notably, reportedly killed at least 53 people, including children. []
And on that note, before we even get into the rest of this, I should say these types of airstrikes are still happening.
In fact, the Associated Press has found that the U.S. bombing campaign in Yemen appears to be even more intense and aggressive than in the past.
Right, just today, a U.S. airstrike reportedly killed 12 people in the country’s capital.
A few days ago, multiple airstrikes on a port reportedly killed 33 people, with a Houthi-run news channel claiming paramedics and workers were among the dead.
And last week, an attack on the same port reportedly killed 74, with the extent of potential civilian casualties reportedly unknown.
Right, so there’s a whole conversation there about that, but to get back to the Signal Chat controversy….
Notably, besides having the conversation on Signal, Hegesth reportedly used his private phone, rather than his government one, to access the chat. []
This even after several staff members reportedly encouraged him to to move the work-related matters to his government phone.
Which he reportedly never did. []
And then as far as those included in the chat?
Well, like I said, there was Jennifer, his wife, who’s a former Fox News producer.
And who, in case you were wondering, is not a Defense Department employee.
Though, notably, she has reportedly accompanied her husband to sensitive meetings with foreign military officials.
And moving on, there’s Hegseth’s brother Phil, and the lawyer, whose name is Tim Parlatore (Par-luh-tor-ray - LISTEN).
They, I will say, at least have jobs in the Pentagon.
Right, Phil is working as a liaison to the Department of Homeland Security and as a senior adviser to the defense secretary AKA HIS BROTHER.[]
And Tim? He’s still reportedly working as Hegseth’s personal lawyer but he’s also a Navy commander in the Judge Advocate General’s Corps –
A job he reportedly got about a week before the strikes took place. []
And with that, it’s still really unclear why either one of them would need to know about upcoming military action in Yemen. []
And as far as what kind of information they were actually privy to?
It reportedly included flight schedules for the fighter jets – essentially the same attack plans shared in the chat with Jeffrey Goldberg.
Though, also notably, unlike that chat, which was created by National Security Advisor Mike Waltz and included Goldberg by accident, this one was created by Hegseth.
And as far as we know, it included his wife, brother, and lawyer on purpose.
And in fact, it reportedly also included about a dozen other people from his personal and professional inner circle BEFORE his confirmation as defense secretary.[]
Including, for example, two senior advisers who were accused of leaking unauthorized information last week and were fired. []
And with that, Hegseth seemingly responded to the latest story by trying to pin it on those individuals and just attacking the media in general.
“You know, what a big surprise that a bunch of, a few leakers get fired and suddenly a bunch of hit pieces come out from the same media that peddled the Russia hoax…” (BYTE: 0:04-0:13)
“See, this is what the media does. They take anonymous sources from disgruntled former employees and then they try to slash and burn people and ruin their reputations. Not gonna work with me.” (0:27- 0:38)
“This is why we're fighting the fake news media. This is why we're fighting slash and burn Democrats. This is why we're fighting hoaxsters, hoaxsters. This group, no, no, no, this group right here full of hoaxsters that peddle anonymous sources from leakers with axes to grind and then you put it all together as if it's some news story and when we know it, we know exactly what it is.” (0:59-1:21)
And so far, at least, the administration has stuck by Hegseth, echoing his own talking points.
Right, the chief Pentagon spokesperson blaming “the Trump-hating media” as well as “disgruntled employees” with a “motive to sabotage the Secretary and the President's agenda.”
As well as maintaining that “there was no classified information in any Signal chat, no matter how many ways they try to write the story.” []
White House Spokesperson Karoline Leavitt also saying Hegseth has Trump’s support and claiming the “entire Pentagon” is working against their agenda.
Which, arguably, is kind of a way of agreeing with the former top spokesperson for the Pentagon who wrote an opinion piece for Politico yesterday claiming the Department is in “total chaos” under Hegseth’s leadership.
Notably, with him also accusing Hegseth’s team of “falsehoods” about why top officials were fired last week, saying they hadn’t actually leaked sensitive information to the media.[]
And with all that, Democrats have pointed to this whole situation as even more reason for Hegesth to resign or be fired.
Tammy Duckworth, for example, who lost both her legs serving in Iraq, saying:
“How many times does Pete Hegseth need to leak classified intelligence before Donald Trump and Republicans understand that he isn’t only a f*cking liar, he is a threat to our national security?
Every day he stays in his job is another day our troops’ lives are endangered by his singular stupidity.” []
But with that, I gotta pass the question off to you.
What are your thoughts here?
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Millions of student loan borrowers are behind on payments, and the impending crisis could have sweeping economic impacts for everyone.
Right, for five years after the pandemic, the federal government had a freeze on penalizing student loan borrowers for not making payments.
And during the Biden administration, the Education Department offered a “fresh start” program that put millions of defaulted borrowers back into good standing.
And, as part of the program, those folks were given a year-long “on ramp” to get their finances together, during which time loan servicers were directed to pause the loans of delinquent borrowers and not report late payments.
With the idea there being that borrowers could come out of the pandemic with a clean slate and ease into repayment.
So, as a result, millions of people had their credit ratings rise.
But, at the same time, the fresh start program also inflated the number of borrowers who were up-to-date on their debts.
And now that the freeze is over and loan servicers started reporting late payers again at the beginning of the year, tons of those people have become delinquent on their loans.
But they’re not alone — they’ve been joined by plenty of people who weren’t delinquent before the pandemic
And when I say a ton, I mean it — we’re talking about numbers in the millions.
So, as a result, since the beginning of the year, millions of student loan holders have had their credit scores absolutely tank.
And that number could increase dramatically — it's been estimated that around 4 million people have been reported to credit bureaus for late payments, and researchers say the number will rise past 9 million by the end of June.
Hell, even people with good credit are falling behind.
According to Credit Karma, over half a million student loan borrowers with good or excellent credit ratings saw their scores drop by an average of 128 points.
And if you’ve ever kept track of your own credit score, you know that is a huge drop.
I mean, we’re talking about a fall that can move a borrower with good credit down to the lowest rating tier.
And now, servicers say that a record number of borrowers could default by the end of the year.
Right, federal student loans default when they are more than 270 days overdue.
And that is a point that people will reach this fall if they never resumed paying their loans after the freeze.
With Nelnet — the government’s largest servicer — sending an analysis to lawmakers that showed an enormous uptick in borrowers whose loans were four to five months overdue.
Right, just before the pandemic, less than 1% of Nelnet’s accounts were nearing default, but now nearly 10% have reached that brink.
And, as Nelnet explicitly warned:
“Without immediate intervention, we could face the largest wave of defaults in the program’s history.”
Now, obviously, getting reported for late payments or defaulting on a loan entirely both have very serious consequences for the borrower in question, but this also goes way beyond the individual.
Right, when people have their credit scores downgraded for any reason, it can prevent them from renting or buying homes.
And when they need to take out a loan for a big purchase, emergency cash, or everyday needs, they can only qualify for more expensive and riskier loans
So, as a result, millions of Americans will not be putting as much money into the economy at a time when it is already struggling.
What’s more, when/ if millions of borrowers end up defaulting, the cost will fall on taxpayers who are also already coping with high inflation and expecting to bear more economic pain from Trump’s tariffs.
So, why the hell do we have so many borrowers not paying their student loan debt?
Well, experts involved with restarting loan payment collections after the 5-year pause say that the reasons are complicated, but there are two main, overarching issues.
First, the whole system has been an absolute fucking mess thanks to frequent and massive changes with loan terms and repayment options.
Moves that have had dramatic consequences not just for borrowers, but servicers and the Education Department as well.
For example, nine million people have had their loans in forbearance — which is a pause on collections.
And most of those loans are either stuck in major processing backlogs or frozen by GOP-led legal challenges to an income-driven repayment program enacted by the Biden administration called SAVE.
Which allowed students to repay their student loans based on how much money they made, with the idea being to keep payments affordable and avoid defaulting.
And while the people who are part of SAVE and other similar plans have been in limbo for months and have not yet been sent to collections, it’s all but certain that the program will be struck down by a federal judge or rolled back by the Trump administration.
So basically, we’re looking at a massive cliff, and it’s just a matter of time before millions of people fall off it.
But that whole situation has just been further exacerbated by the Trump administration's tactics.
Right, the shifting loan terms and repayment options have caused a ton of chaos, creating a surge in processing issues and other demands from borrowers.
But instead of increasing Education Department staffing to field the increased need, the Trump administration has done the exact opposite, imposing sweeping cuts to the agency — which Trump has also directed the agency’s Secretary to eliminate.
And, as part of that, Trump has said that he will be moving the management of student loans to the Small Business Administration.
Now, as we’ve talked about numerous times before, neither of those goals can be achieved without Congress — which has made it clear it’s not interested.
But insiders say that the impact of Trump’s orders — as well as the plans to fire almost half of the Education Department’s employees — have pushed its Federal Student Aid office almost to the point of collapsing entirely.
With the overall result being absolute and utter turmoil at a time when all hands are needed on deck to handle this budding student loan default crisis.
Which brings us to the second main reason so many student loan borrowers aren’t paying — and it’s much more straightforward.
In one sentence, it’s simply just incredibly hard for many people to incorporate a three or even four-figure monthly debt into their budgets after years of not paying.
Especially given the current economic situation.
So for now, we’re just going to have to keep an eye on this whole mess, but in the meantime, I’d love to know your thoughts in the comments down below — especially if you are one of the millions of Americans with student loan debt.
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And for your daily dose of “not everything on Earth is bad and awful,” I’d like you to meet Bradley Snyder.
Bradley here is 9 years old and every year since 2022, he goes out to houses and neighborhoods and hides Easter eggs for a small donation of $30. [B Roll 0:15-0:21]
Right, instead of hiding the eggs for your Easter egg hunt yourself, you’d hire Bradley and he’ll hide roughly 2 dozen eggs filled with candy and notes from the Easter Bunny around your yard.
But the funds he raises aren’t going into his pocket for a new game or another toy - they’re going towards the Alzheimer’s Association. []
You see, after losing her grandparents to Alzheimer’s, Bradley’s mother joined the Greater Maryland Chapter of the Alzheimer’s Association. []
Where she directed the annual walk to end the disease.
And the egg hunt project was something that Bradley and his mom did together - until she passed away suddenly last year.
Instead of letting it go with her, Bradley decided to keep the fundraiser alive in her memory - saying,
“She was the best person I knew. If anything, she was probably the best person on Earth. I was very lucky to have her for all 9 years that I’ve been alive. Sometimes, it’s a little hard, knowing the fact that I’m never going to do this with my mom anymore. But I’m doing it for her at least.” 1:00-1:20
And Bradley’s grandmother has stepped up to help him do that.
Since starting these egg hunts, Bradley has raised more than $5,000 and this year alone, he’s already raised more than $2,000 with many more yards to hide eggs in on the schedule. []
With Bradley saying,
“Some people don’t give to you at all, but the least you can do is still give stuff to them. It helps make the world a little bit of a better place.” 1:37-1:46
And with that amazing nugget of wisdom from someone who hasn’t even hit double digits yet, I’m going to call Bradley our BAMF of the day.
Keep doing what you’re doing, bud.
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