Source: J.R. Davis / Radio One D.C. People’s Heartbreaking Pleas Are Shared On GoFundMe While some ( but not all ) elected officials continue to feel safe and secure with their regular paycheck, other government workers are out here struggling because of the shutdown . So much so that they have to resort to crowdfunding sites like GoFundMe. According to Newsweek, a GoFundMe spokesperson said that around 1,000 furloughed federal workers have started a crowdfunding account to help cover their living expenses. This makes sense considering the fact that one quarter of all U.S. government departments have been affected by the government shutdown. Some 800,000 federal employees have been furloughed or have been working without pay. A GoFundMe spokesperson, Katherine Cichy, told Reuters on Wednesday that GoFundMe has a dedicated staff who is managing and reviewing the fundraising pages related to the government shutdown. So far the crowdsourcing attempts have exceeded $100,000 since the shutdown started. Alphonzo Breland, a 41-year-old Internal Revenue Service worker from California, told Reuters that he tried to get a night job at a warehouse before trying out GoFundMe on Tuesday. “My heart is always fluttering, my head is racing,” Breland said. “My mortgage is due now, I have until the 15th and then I get a late fee. I had to cancel the tuition deduction for my daughter’s school.” Julie Burr, who described herself as a single mom and contracted government worker in Missouri, wrote on her GoFundMe page , “I’m losing pay every day that this government shutdown continues. I’ve taken on extra shifts at my 2nd job but it isn’t going to pay rent and all my bills. Being a single mom, I’m in panic mode right now. If you’d like to help, any donations are appreciated.” Two sons, Robert and Tristan from Seattle, have even started a GoFundMe page for their mom, who “has not received her paycheck” due to the government shutdown. “My mom is a single mom of 2 boys trying to make ends meet,” they wrote. “My mom does not get help from the state, she works really hard to provide for me and my brother… [We] are reaching out to the world to see if we can raise enough money so that she doesn’t have to worry anymore.“ With stories like this, elected officials and, of course, Trump are really showing their a$$ on how much they care about the American people.
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Rent’s Due! Federal Workers Sadly Resort To Crowdfunding Sites Amidst Government Shutdown
