Boy of ‘Success Kid’ Meme Fundraises For Father’s Kidney Transplant

If you’ve spent time on the Internet, you’re probably familiar with the “Success Kid” meme: A young baby looking confident with a fist full of sand. As it turns out, memes are real people—who face real problems.

The child behind “Success Kid” is 8-year-old Sammy Griner, and his father is in need of a kidney transplant. The Griner family recently launched a GoFundMe campaign to raise money for the medical bills. The family was asking for around $75,000 and has already surpassed that goal. According to ABC News, the site reached about $9,000 in just five days. Currently, funds are at over $86,000 in just a week.

Sammy’s mom, Laney Griner, told ABC News that while at first she wasn’t happy about a photo from her son at the beach had gone viral, today she’s happy it happened. “By now, it’s just out there. What am I going to do? At least it’s positive,” she said. “Without that happening, how much could I get this recognition about my husband’s kidney transplant?”