California couple honour two-year-old who died suddenly by giving random family $100,000

Savannah's Stolen Moment Campaign raised thousands for the family

Two-year-old Savannah

A family whose young daughter died suddenly in her crib have honoured her life by donating $100,000 (£64,000) to a single mother of five children they met randomly on a trip.

Larry and Carrie Carroll’s two-year-old daughter Savannah tragically died during the night.

Mr Carroll told Yahoo Savannah went to bed in their California home on 3 April with a slight fever, but otherwise appeared to be in good health. The next day, they awoke to find their daughter had passed away. Ms Carroll was eight months pregnant with her third child at the time.

Her death was later explained as Sudden Unexplained Death in Children (SUDC), or the sudden and unexpected death of a child over the age of 12 months.

To honour her memory, the grief-stricken couple decided to launch a Savannah's Stolen Moment Campaign fundly page to give another little girl the "stolen moment" they were unable to give Savannah.

In an emotional post the day Savannah died, Mr Carroll wrote: “I'm sorry if this is very raw, but my baby girl died this morning.

“Please believe me when I say that Savannah, who was two-and-a-half, was loved every second that she was alive. My wife and I fed her the healthiest foods, gave her that extra-fancy milk with the DHA in it, enrolled her in a little gym class and showered her with countless hugs and kisses.”

“We're not sure what happened. We woke up this morning, and she did not.”

Mr Carroll explained on the page that when Savannah was alive, the family had shared lots of unplanned memories with her.

He wrote: “A surprise trip to an indoor playground, an unexpected cookie at Starbucks, a walk along the beach on a random Tuesday afternoon - and I came to refer to these as "Stolen Moments."

The fund pledged to find a family the couple had never met before and help them create their own stolen moment with their daughter. The only requirements the recipient had to meet was that they had a little girl who was “clearly” loved and that they do not have the financial means to typically “do this sort of thing”.

“Perhaps we can send them to Disneyland, and get them the greatest hotel room ever. Perhaps we could fly them somewhere, Mr Carroll wrote. “I want to give some little person a moment with her Mom and Dad that she'll remember forever - a moment that they would never have without us doing this.

“Any money raised above the costs of the "Stolen Moment" will be put into a college fund for that child.

After raising nearly $100,000 in the seven months that followed, the Carroll’s found a family they wanted to donate the money to when they visited Savannah, in Georgia, during Thanksgiving week with their two sons Jack and Dash.

Mr Carroll explained that Sarah Williams’ daughter Isabella ran up to the Carrolls’ son at a Jumping Jacks indoor play area. After speaking with the family, the pair decided to gift Ms Williams with the money.

“We both knew that this was our family because Isabella was such a sweet little girl, just like Savannah,” Mr Carroll said. “We told Sarah about Savannah and made our offer.”

Ms Williams said she did not believe it when the family told her about their plans.

“They told me about their daughter and how much Isabella resembled her, and we all started crying,” she told Yahoo. “Whenever we ask Isabella what she wants to be when she grows up, she says, ‘I want to go to college — twice!’ This money will help her achieve her goals.”

The Carrolls now plan to hold a fundraising event in Savannah’s name every year.