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For Jennifer Phillips, what started as a GoFundMe campaign for an upgraded van turned into a special shared moment with rap artist and Global Citizen Kendrick Lamar. 

Phillips, who has been quadriplegic for more than ten years after getting into a car accident, met Lamar for the first time six years ago, but this time Lamar came bearing gifts for the longtime fan. 

Before a show in Dallas, he presented Phillips with a signed sweatshirt and a modified van that will allow her to have greater mobility, Fader reports.

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“Thank you for always supporting me,” Lamar’s note, written out on the sweatshirt, read. “For all the years of inspiring me, the least I can do is make sure your [sic] comfortable driving the city.” 

According to a note posted on Twitter, Phillips has been confined to a wheelchair since an accident almost exactly 11 years ago, on July 26, 2006. That hasn’t stopped her from accomplishing her goals in life. 

Complex reports that since her accident, the fan has gone on ski trips, gotten a college degree, and attended eight Kendrick Lamar concerts, among many other shows. 

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Spinal cord injuries causing paraplegia, quadriplegia, and other mobility disabilities affect an estimated 282,000 Americans, according to the National Spinal Cord Injury Statistical Center, with vehicle crashes accounting for the highest proportion of these injuries. 

According to the study, African Americans are disproportionately affected, accounting for over 20% of spinal cord injuries, despite being just 12% of the population. These injuries can make it tough to enter the workforce, and the study shows that only one in three who suffer a spinal cord injury are employed 20 years after their accident. 

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For Phillips, however, Lamar’s gift will make one daily challenge — transportation — all that much easier. 

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Her promise to Lamar? 

“I will continue to pray for you,” she wrote on Instagram. “And like I said, next time I'm driving myself to your show.” 

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Kendrick Lamar Changed a Fan's Life With This Gift

By Phineas Rueckert