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Posts tagged as “GoFundMe”

R.I.P. Singer, Actress and former Prince Protégé Denise Matthews aka Vanity

By goodblacknews on February 15, 2016
Vanity, best known as Prince's former protégé and member of Vanity 6, died at 57 after battling an inflammation of her small intestines. Vanity, whose real name was Denise Katrina Matthews, passed away in hospital in Fremont, California according to sources close to her family. During the 90s, the star suffered a cocaine overdose that left her kidneys so damaged she required regular dialysis.
Vanity (PAUL NATKIN/WIREIMAGE); Rolling Stone cover with Prince (RICHARD AVEDON)

article by Ethan Sacks via nydailynews.com

Denise Katrina Matthews, popularly known as Vanity, a protege of Prince who achieved stardom in the 1980s as the lead singer of the all-girl group Vanity 6, died Monday in a California hospital, the gossip site TMZ reported.  She was 57.

The Canadian-born pop singer and actress had been battling inflammation of her small intestines, the latest in a string of health problems.  Matthews had asked fans to help her pay for her treatments through a GoFundMe page as she fought a condition called sclerosing encapsulating peritonitis. In 1994, a crack cocaine overdose left her kidneys so damaged that she required regular dialysis.

“Boy, it is not fun suffering in this body of weak flesh… but Jesus is straightening out all my crooked places in my heart as I go through this time of pain,” the born-again Christian wrote on the GoFundMe page.
It’s an all-too-soon ending for an artist who showed so much promise with Vanity 6’s 1980s hits, “Nasty Girl,” “Drive Me Wild” and “He’s So Dull” produced by Prince.
Vanity 6 toured with the megastar before Vanity broke out on her own solo career, which yielded the hits “Pretty Mess,” “Mechanical Emotion” and “Under the Influence.”


The former model also acted in a steady string of movies, including “The Last Dragon” (1985), “52 Pick-up” (1986) and “Action Jackson” (1988).
After her 1994 overdose, Matthews left Hollywood and rededicated her life to her local church.
Sources told TMZ that she attended services as recently as Saturday night, when she told her fellow congregants that she was ready to go home.

The Ellen DeGeneres Show Donates Tons of Resources to Detroit Public School in Need

By goodblacknews on February 14, 2016
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The students and faculty members at the Spain Elementary-Middle School in Detroit (THE ELLEN DEGENERES SHOW AND SPAIN ELEMENTARY-MIDDLE SCHOOL)

article by Diana Ozemebhoya Eromosele via theroot.com

There’s a public school in Detroit that is falling apart, literally, and Ellen DeGeneres just threw a bunch of money and attention at the problem, the Detroit Free Press reports.

According to a clip from the show, the Spain Elementary-Middle School is chock-full of students from working-class families that are “poor or homeless,” DeGeneres explained.
The technology at the school doesn’t work or is nonexistent, “their entire roof is falling apart [and] their gym is completely shut down,” forcing students to take their physical education class in the hallways.
At times, students wear coats in the classroom because the heat doesn’t work. DeGeneres donated and pooled together tons of resources for the school, which she says is her show’s “most generous giveaway.”
Those giveaways include a $100 gift card from Lowe’s for each teacher and staff member at the school, $50,000 in technology from Lowe’s, $200,000 worth of materials and labor to go toward a new roof, and a $250,000 donation from Lowe’s. Plus, the show started a GoFundMe page for the school with a $5 million goal (the GoFundMe team has already pledged $15,000 toward that goal).
DeGeneres surprised the school’s students during a live telecast of her show, in which she video-conferenced into their assembly. Check out the surprise by clicking here.
To read more: http://www.theroot.com/blogs/the_grapevine/2016/02/watch_the_ellen_show_donates_tons_of_resources_to_detroit_public_school.html

Lauren Laray, 8, Makes Wigs for Child Cancer Patients

By goodblacknews on February 12, 2016

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8 year-old Lauren Laray (photo via You-Tube)

article by Zon D’Amour via hellobeautiful.com
Where can we make an appointment to get our hair done by 8-year-old Lauren Laray? The 3rd grader has a remarkable talent for doing hair and she’s putting her skills towards an excellent cause.
After learning that her best friend’s little sister had cancer and was losing her hair to chemotherapy, Lauren decided to make her a wig. She now wants to help even more little girls feel beautiful while they fight to overcome one of the most difficult times in their lives.
Initially, Lauren was going to make 10 wigs but by the summer, she hopes to finish 30 wigs that will be donated to the Nevada Childhood Cancer Foundation.
“Some of them will be blonde; some of them will be redheaded for redheaded little girls. I’ll have a whole bunch because other girls have other styles for their hair”, said Lauren.
Lauren has launched a GoFundMe page where she’s already exceeded the $900 needed to make the 30 wigs which costs $30 per head for supplies. The Las Vegas native uses a crochet needle, weave cap, two packs of hair and a bow.
“I won’t need a thank you, I’ll just see a smile on their face and I’ll be happy,” said Lauren. To see her demonstrate how to make a wig, watch below:
[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rK__Cy_l9ws&w=420&h=315]

Rapper 2 Chainz Donates 5-Bedroom House to Family Of 11 In Need (VIDEO)

By goodblacknews on January 20, 2016
(CREDIT: YouTube)
The profits from 2Chainz’s mega-successful “Dabbin’ Santa” Christmas sweaters is being used for the utmost good. The “Hair Weave Killer” has donated a five bedroom, three bathroom home to a family of 11 through his TRU Foundation.
The TRU (To Reassure U) Foundation is a nonprofit based out of Atlanta which aims to help families living in the Southside of Atlanta and its surrounding areas. 2 Chainz found out about this family in need through a GoFundMe campaign created by Atlanta’s Progression Church, as told in a video posted on Tity Boi’s YouTube Channel. The family, which has nine children including two sets of twins, was living in squalid conditions in a heatless two-bedroom apartment, where they were facing eviction. The father was unable to work due to health conditions.

READ: 2 Chainz Makes $2 Million From “Dabbin’ Santa” Christmas Sweaters; Gives Back to Those in Need

“We ain’t know where we was gonna go,” the family patriarch says. “We was not looking forward to nothing like this. It is way over our head, but we gonna learn how to deal with it. But we thank God for it. … Now we don’t have to cry no more. We don’t have to worry nothin no more.”
2 Chainz, who noted he didn’t want to receive anything from his charitable deed, said that he was looking forward to just helping others who needed it most.
“I’m looking forward to seeing their smiles,” 2 Chainz says. “I’m looking forward to the kids growing up knowing that Uncle 2 Chainz came through. All you gotta do is pray… Keep praying. You gotta have faith. You gotta believe.”
To see the heartwarming video, click below:
[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zkUiq0X-ALo&w=560&h=315]
article by J’na Jefferson via vibe.com

Alabama Attorney Freddie Stokes Gets Local Barbershops to Stock Books for Boys

By goodblacknews on June 7, 2015
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Royal Touch Barbershop owner Reggie Ross gives a touch-up to a young customer while he reads in Palm Beach County, Fla. (WPTV SCREENSHOT)

An article published in The Root last year about a Florida barbershop that promotes literacy sparked a movement miles away in the cities of Prichard and Mobile, Ala.

Freddie Stokes launched Books for Boys about three weeks ago. He initially intended to establish small libraries, of about 75 books each, in two or three barbershops, but the response to his initiative was so overwhelming that Stokes says he’s now able to establish libraries in at least six barbershops. The first one will open in mid-June.
“We don’t want to stop until all the barbershops in this community have libraries,” he says, with an air of reserved confidence that it will be done.
Stokes is supplying books with which black boys can identify. “When our boys say they don’t like to read, a lot of that is coming from not being interested in reading about characters that don’t look like them,” he explains. His growing stockpile includes biographies, such as Malcolm Little: The Boy Who Grew Up to Become Malcolm X, 12 Rounds to Glory: The Story of Muhammad Ali and Barack Obama: Son of Promise, Child of Hope.
In addition to promoting literacy, Books for Boys aims to raise self-esteem. Stokes grew up in public housing and struggled early in school, having to repeat the third grade. A teacher inspired him to read books, including those about successful African Americans, which allowed him to dream big and ultimately achieve his goals.
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Books for Boys’ Freddie Stokes (photo: Rodney R. Clifton) 
Stokes worked in classrooms for two years through Teach for America, an organization that places recent college graduates and professionals in underserved classrooms. He introduced his students to books with positive black characters and watched their self-esteem grow.
“When I went from the classroom to the courtroom, I was able to connect the violence to a lack of reading and self-esteem,” says Stokes, who is also a criminal defense attorney in private practice.
“After reading the article in The Root, I asked myself, why isn’t this [barbershop libraries] in every community?” he recalls. “Then one day I got an epiphany: Just get up and do the work. We can’t wait on the government to do it for us.”
Stokes admits that he didn’t expect the overwhelming response that he received. Barbershop owners said that they are expecting scores of boys to come in over the summer and would gladly offer them books. Parents, sometimes groups of them, are donating with a request that Stokes open a library where they take their sons. And local professionals are opening their wallets to sponsor barbershops, sometimes with a request that Stokes purchase books that emphasize math and science.
In a few short weeks, Stokes’ grassroots effort raised more than $1,500 on GoFundMe. Folks in the community have also given about $800 in cash donations toward the purchase of books. Stokes hopes that this small effort ignites a larger movement that reaches well beyond the Mobile area.
article by Nigel Roberts via theroot.com

Toronto Native Tonika Morgan Goes from Homeless to Harvard Graduate School, Thanks to Crowdfunding

By goodblacknews on May 26, 2015
Tonika Morgan, pictured at the Artscape Youngplace in Toronto.
Tonika Morgan, pictured at the Artscape Youngplace in Toronto. (Photo: ISA MIGUEL RANSOME)

Tonika Morgan has not had an easy life. Now 32, the Toronto woman says she left home at 14, was homeless for four years, and slept in shelters and on park benches. She was kicked out of high school, she says, because she hardly ever showed up.

Even though she’s overcome problems that would overwhelm almost anyone, it wasn’t until this year that she faced what she calls her “biggest fear of all”: the fear that her application to attend Harvard’s Graduate School of Education next fall would be rejected.
It wasn’t. She’s in. But with her acceptance letter came another big worry: that she couldn’t pay the approximately $77,000 needed for the one-year master’s program, where tuition alone is $43,280.
So, lacking resources or workable options, she joined a growing number of needy college students and turned to crowdfunding to raise the money. She launched a “Mission for Harvard Tuition” in April on the GoFundMe site.  According to aol.com, after local media publicized the page, Morgan exceeded her goal and nearly $93,000 dollars was fundraised.
But Tonika Morgan knows that being able to go to her Harvard is not without the help of others who are helping her fulfill a dream of a lifetime.  “I have to say that this has been quite emotional for me. I have shared hugs, tears of joy and laughter with the beautiful souls who have noticed me on the street. I’ve never felt more supported and connected to anyone the way I have felt since this campaign started.”

“I was on the trolley and this woman reached her hand out and started crying,” Morgan, who goes by “Toni,” said in a phone interview from Toronto. “She said, ‘I’m so proud of you!’ I didn’t know that by telling my own truth, I’d connect with so many people.”

Tamir Rice’s Mom Out of Homeless Shelter, Thanks to Family and Crowdfunding

By goodblacknews on May 11, 2015

Samaria Rice, mother of Tamir Rice- who was shot to death by a police officer - speak on a panel titled "The Impact of Police Brutality - The Victims Speak" at the National Action Network (NAN) national convention on April 8, 2015 in New York City.
Five months after her son Tamir was killed by the police in Cleveland, Samaria Rice moved herself into a homeless shelter, unable to stay near the spot where her son was playing with a toy gun one minute, and lay dead the next.
But thanks to an assist from her family, Rice was recently able to relocate to a new house in the city, ABC5 reported.  “Emotionally, she just could not take it, and she had nowhere else to go,” Rice’s attorney Walter Madison told Cleveland Scene of Rice’s decision. “It was more comfortable for her in a shelter than it would have been in her own home.”
Due to delays in the criminal investigation, Rice continues to accrue additional legal expenses, which a GoFundMe campaign hopes to offset.
The police officers involved in the case have requested that the family put off its federal civil rights lawsuit . The officers are concerned their testimonies in the federal investigation may self-incriminate them in the criminal case, the New Republic reported.
Tamir’s relatives, however, have protested that request saying that delaying the lawsuit will cause their legal costs to surge and exacerbate their emotional pain, according to the Associated Press.
Tamir still has not been buried because the family is concerned that additional medical examinations could be required, according to the court motion.

article via eurweb.com

College Student Roland Gainer Helps his Uber Driver, 69 Year-Old Kenneth Broskey, Raise Money to Pay off Home

By goodblacknews on April 19, 2015
PHOTO: Kenneth Broskey, 69, and Roland Gainer, 22, are pictured here.
PHOTO: Kenneth Broskey, 69, and Roland Gainer, 22, are pictured here. (Roland Gainer)

A grandfather from Michigan who’s been battling cancer for almost two years now was told 10 days ago he has about two to 10 weeks to live.  Despite recommendations to look into hospice care, Kenneth Broskey, 69, is still working full-time as an Uber driver and real estate agent in the Detroit area.
Broskey, from Livonia, told ABC News today he’s trying to raise as much money as he can so his daughter, 46, and his two grandchildren, ages 13 and nine, have a place to live when he’s soon gone.
“Once I pass away, chances are my daughter, who’s a part-time waitress at a small restaurant in Livonia, will lose the house we live in because she won’t be able to afford it anymore,” Broskey said. “So I’m doing everything for her and my grandkids at this point. When you find out you’re dying, you realize your family and friends are so important.”
And thanks to a fateful Uber ride three weeks ago, Broskey is now over $22,000 closer to paying off his family’s $95,000 mortgage.
During that ride, Broskey met Roland Gainer, a 22-year-old student at Washtenaw Community College who needed a ride to downtown Ann Arbor to meet up with some friends. Gainer said he started chatting with Broskey and the casual conversation got deeper when he learned Broskey had terminal cancer — stage four oropharyngeal cancer with lung metastases.

PHOTO: Kenneth Broskey, 69, and Roland Gainer, 22, are pictured here.

“I was asking him if he liked Uber driving and then he explained how much he loved it because he got to meet new people, and it was also helping him earn extra money before dying because he had head, tongue and throat cancer,” Broskey told ABC News today. “I felt super-compelled to help him.”
Gainer and Broskey traded numbers, and Gainer turned to the owner of a popular eclectic barber shop in Detroit for ideas on how to help Broskey, he said.
Sebastian Jackson, owner of “The Social Club” barber shop, said he got Broskey connected with a communications expert named Karen Dumas in the area, and the three of them worked together to start a GoFundMe account for Broskey this past Monday.

“It’s so inspiring to see racial and generational gaps be broken for a good cause,” Jackson told ABC News today. “I wanted to help in any way I could.”

Talib Kweli’s Action Support Committee Raises Over $100,000 For Ferguson Activists

By lorilakinhutcherson on February 17, 2015

Talib Kweli Rare Portraits Gravitas
In the wake of former officer Darren Wilson’s shooting of Ferguson, Missouri teen Michael Brown that left Brown dead and Wilson a free man, dozens of protestors and organizers took to the Missouri streets. Some were pepper sprayed and even arrested, and in the midst of the unrest, hip hop artist and activist Talib Kweli helped establish a The Action Support Committee. The Committee aimed to raise $25,000 and disperse the money in the form of grants to those in need. Kweli addressed the Committee’s goals via the following written statement:

These are young men and women who have put their lives on hold to stand up for all of our freedoms. The overly militarized police force in Ferguson has attempted to criminalize them by harassing and throwing them in jail for exercising their right to peaceful protest. We hope these funds help to empower.

Led by Kweli, Donna Dragotta, and Autumn Marie, the Committee’s GoFundMe campaign surpassed the $25,000 goal and raised $112,052 before the fundraising campaign ended in January. The first $48,800 funding phase will be distributed as follows:
Jail & Bail Fund ($35,000), Artists as Tutors ($2,000), Revolutionary Reading Program ($2,000), Tech Impact Initiative ($2,000), Latino youth leadership program Juventud Raza Unida ($2,000), The Transitional Housing Program ($2,000) and Bereavement Fund ($3,800).
Additional funds are scheduled to be distributed to the Action Support Committee’s Revolution School and programs “committed to sustaining the recent momentum of social justice organizing.”
article by Omar Burgess via elev8.hellobeautiful.com

More Than $300,000 Raised In Five Days For James Robertson, Man Who Walks 21 Miles To And From Work

By goodblacknews on February 6, 2015

James-Robertson
The story of James Robertson, the 56-year-old man who walks 21 miles, five days a week, to and from Schain Mold & Engineering In Rochester Hills, Michigan, continues to inspire. His Honda broke down a decade ago and Detroit’s public transportation system doesn’t extend to that area. So every day, for the last 10 years, Robertson would walk to and from work–no matter the weather, and has yet to miss a day of work.
Bill Laitner of the Detroit Free Press shared Robertson’s story on Sunday, and a GoFundMe page was immediately put together by Wayne State University student, Evan Leedy. The title? Help James Robertson Get a Car. The goal on the page says $25,000, but as of the time of this report, the account has far exceeded that goal, bringing in $307,497 thanks to 11,781 people donating in only five days.
And now, Robertson, according to the Detroit Free Press, is preparing to get a shiny red, 2015 Ford Taurus. And the good news is, he won’t even have to use that $307,497 towards the purchase of it. A Suburban Ford dealership in Sterling Heights is giving Robertson the Taurus, because as manager Jim Elder put it, “There’s nobody who deserves it more than him.”
And Robertson’s story has even opened the eyes of CEO of Regional Transit Authority, Michael Ford, who said that residents of metro Detroit need a better way to get around:
“That story is heartbreaking and it’s not necessary. There’s more that we can do.”
Robertson is grateful for all the love and support, both financial and emotional, telling all those who have donated, “you guys are the heroes.”
article by Victoria Uwumarogie via madamenoire.com