Definitely Snowdrop :D It's one of the big things that attracted me to this fandom... the idea of a bunch of fans creating a video of that quality just because they love the show really made me realize what a special fandom this is.

First of all, who says that the statue being a pony instantly means his story will be meaningless to anybody outside the fandom? Michael's story has already been in media around the globe and touched people inside and outside the fandom. The fact that the statue is of a pony isn't because they're trying to raise awareness inside the fandom alone, it's because it represents who Michael is.

And how on Earth is it tacky and offensive? Statues have been used for thousands and thousands of years as a way to serve as reminders about events and evoke emotions. Michael has touched people's hearts around the world, and that's worthwhile of this treatment.

Plus, you're forgetting about how this will be used. They've said that the purpose of this is to take to speaking events. I want you to think about all the times in elementary school someone came and talked about bullying... most the time it just seemed like some boring person talking about things you already know and everything they said usually was ignored. With this, they can come in to a school, let the kids take pictures with a giant pink pony, and use that as a way to let the kids get interested in Michael's story and get interested in preventing bullying. It's no different from the way schools used McGruff the Crime Dog for years to get kids interested in safety. Honestly it's actually a pretty fantastic idea.

And as I've stated and others have stated over and over, not all the money is going to build this statue. They said right in the post that this drive is to pay for Michael's ongoing medical expenses in addition to the cost of the materials for the statue (since the person building it is someone who volunteered to provide labor).

The bottom line is that nobody is expecting you to support the project, but the amount of hatred that in all of these replies insulting the family for wanting to build this to help with their activities is simply astonishing. If you think it's a waste of money, that's fine, but there's no need to insult people who want to support this cause anyway.

Yes they are that high. He needs constant medical treatment... this isn't just a single surgery and then he's done type thing, this is years of ongoing medical treatment and physical therapy that he'll be needing and it takes a huge toll.

And again, if anybody would bother to watch the videos you'd know the statue part of this isn't just to benefit Michael. And in fact, it's not to benefit him at all. They're going to take it to conventions and speaking engagements as a symbol for anti-bullying. They want to have a giant thing they can put at something like bronycon and attract attention to so they can spread their anti-bullying message to others.

It's going to pay for medical expenses and to build a statue to be used at pony conventions as a symbol for anti bullying.... so how doesn't this go beyond the person receiving the money?

Actually the video at the top is made by a person who does 3d printing professionally and is handling it, so it does sound like he's doing the labor for nothing.

His family is the one starting the campaign. The purpose for the statue isn't to shove in Michael's bedroom, it's to take to speaking events and pony conventions as a symbol for their anti-bullying campaign. And the page says that this is also to pay for his medical expenses so only a part of all the donations they're receiving are going to pay for the statue... it's just a bit of a neat side-project.

A lot of people here are missing the point. First of all, a lot of the money from this is going to his medical expenses... they say right on the page, "Your generous participation at any and every level will allow the Foundation to implement its mission, will subsidize Michael's ongoing medical needs, and will produce Michael’s Pony."

So producing the statue is only a small part of this campaign. And the statue is actually a really neat idea. The idea behind it is that they can take it to pony conventions and speaking events as a giant symbol for anti-bullying in the fandom. People can take pictures with it and look at it, and it'll make them think and remember about all of these horrible tragedies we've had with bullying in the fandom. I think that's definitely worth while.

And for goodness sake, if you don't want to support it don't, but to call it ridiculous and discourage others from supporting Michael's medical expenses and anti-bullying awareness is just ridiculous.

At first I read it as the end of the series like others are doing, but then I realized she's just talking about finishing the first draft of a script for an episode, not the series finale. She meant "The End" as in writing the words "The End" at the end of the script.

Oh my God, the Wonderbolts Reserve... they really are the military xD

I think this is going to be an awesome episode :D

The idiotic comments are going to happen regardless, but national media attention can bring this kid in more donations and more support as well. Just look to the bright side :D