Gus Walz inspired me to crash a nonprofit website

Last week I accidentally helped break a small nonprofit's website. I didn't intend or foresee the outcome. But it felt incredibly good.

The NVLD Project is dedicated to supporting people with nonverbal learning disabilities. Founded just over a decade ago by the mother of a daughter with NVLD, it provides education, resources, and advocacy for children and adults who have encountered difficulties due to their NVLD condition.

In the long term, they hope that NVLD will be included as a valid disorder in the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM) so that people can get the help they deserve.

NVLDs came to the forefront of the American psyche when cameras at the Democratic National Convention captured vice presidential candidate Tim Walz's 17-year-old son Gus applauding wildly while crying and telling the people around him, “That's my dad!”

For the vast majority of Americans, it was a heartfelt moment of authenticity. Seeing so much love between father and son touched our hearts. My wife sent me a sobbing emoji when she saw it.

Of course, America has its fair share of obnoxious trolls. Within minutes, Republican partisans began mocking Gus Walz's response. Most notoriously, Ann Coulter called her “weird” – clearly trying to turn the tables on Democratic taunts of Donald Trump and JD Vance. Coulter was joined by celebrities such as disgraced filmmaker Dinesh D'Souza and now-suspended right-wing radio host Jay Weber.

The backlash came fast and furious, especially after it became widely known that Gus suffers from NVLD, ADHD, and an anxiety disorder. Like a wave of angry older siblings, people came to his defense. Others shared stories of themselves or their families with NVLDs; most notably, actor Jeremy London posted a haunting video in which he was visibly disturbed because he viewed the attacks on Gus Walz as attacks on his own grandson.

Seeing London's video was like a catalyst for me.

Earlier, I had seen former First Lady Michelle Obama urging the audience to “do something” – a message that Vice President Kamala Harris has repeatedly emphasized on the campaign trail. Obama has always inspired me, and this time was no different. I just needed a moment to figure out what to do.

Then I came across posts from two of my favorite Twitter followers (I never call it X), 9News anchor Kyle Clark and writer/podcaster Shea Serrano. Both do their best to encourage donations to good, worthy causes. They often use their platforms to raise money for good causes. People helping people.

I quickly began looking into nonprofits that help people with NVLDs and educate others. The NVLD Project immediately stood out to me. When I saw that it works with partners like Columbia University Medical Center and Children's Hospital Los Angeles, I knew it was a reputable organization.

I navigated to the donation page, pulled out my wallet, entered my credit card, donated, and took a screenshot. I also took a screenshot of the Triple Impact campaign, which runs through August 31st.

A few minutes and one hashtag later, I posted everything on Twitter.

Then I messaged a few friends with lots of followers to spread the word. Suddenly, tens of thousands of people saw my request to contribute. Many did. Within an hour, reports came back that the people contributing had slowed the site down so much that it was barely running. But people kept trying.

At some point, the NVLD project posted something about the influx and the resulting traffic problems and encouraged more people to check out their Facebook page. Apparently we temporarily took down their website in the best way possible.

The donors' feed is now filled with messages like “#loveguswalz,” “In Gus, we trust,” and “#TeamGus,” along with donations ranging from $5 to $100. For hours, people continued to pour money into the organizations.

Late that night, I saw a response to my post that made me burst into tears that would have put Gus Walz to shame. Ariel Elizabeth, the original inspiration for the NVLD project, wrote:

“Thank you for defending Gus and the people in my community. My mom started @theNVLDProject because of my experience with NVLD. Thank you for bringing visibility to an overlooked and invisible disability. To say I am overwhelmed by the love we have received would be an understatement.”

The thanks really go to Gus Walz for sharing his father and his joy for life with us. The thanks go to the people who came together to shower him with love. The thanks go to the people who pulled out their wallets and donated.

Thanks go to the people who do the hard work of dealing with NVLDs, educating others about them, and succeeding together.

Not only did Gus Walz give us a moment of joy, but he also helped bring much-needed attention to challenges that few people knew about before he captured our hearts. If that attention meant temporarily shutting down a nonprofit website, it was worth the cost.

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