In a time where the economy has caused many people to feel a larger burden when suffering financial hardships and an age of rising social media, GoFundMe campaigns have become quite popular. The practice of funding a project, cause or event by raising money from donors on the Internet is called crowdfunding. GoFundMe was launched online nearly five years ago and has become one of the top crowdfunding or fundraising sites for personal causes and life-events. Hundreds of thousands of people have raised more than $900 million collectively from more than 10 million donors through the GoFundMe website. A number of people within the local area have taken to the website to raise money for medical expenses, funeral costs and education funds.
Jaclyn Greene set up an account with the help of a coworker last month out of desperation.
“I am usually a very private person and deal with issues on my own,” she said. “But I’ve never had so many issues to deal with before.”
Last September, her son, Joshua, was hit by a car while walking to North Shore Middle School. He broke his tibia in three places and his mandible snapped in half, causing him to have multiple surgeries, need constant care and become wheelchair-bound for three months. Greene, a mother of four and a supervisor for a home care agency, was fired from her job due to the amount of time she had to take off to care for her son. To top it off, last month, her landlord failed inspection on the apartment she was renting and the family had to make an emergency move—to North Carolina.
“I couldn’t afford to stay in New York anymore,” Greene said.
They arrived in the new home last week and Greene had already begun interviewing for a new job, but was still stuck with a higher-than-expected moving bill. She had raised $660 as of press time, with a goal of $3,000.
“We’ve been through hell and high water,” said Greene. “I’m just hoping this works out for the best.”
To donate, go to www.gofundme.com/jgreene.
Another popular use of the site to raise money for small business expenses, which is what children’s author Mariah Leal is doing.
Leal started her campaign in March 2014; so far she has raised $820, with a goal of $6,000 to get her self-published books ready to print prior to upcoming events. Leal became disabled after a head-on collision in 2002 and said she lost her dog around the same time the doctors told her she could no longer work.
“I was devastated,” she said. “I was advised to get a new puppy right away to help with the emotional healing.”
That was when Piper, a bullmastiff, came into her life and she started logging the pup’s learning processes, training and “silly antics.”
“Pet education was a big part of my work with dogs no matter which venue I was in,” said Leal of her prior work. “The statistics of dog bites in the U.S. are astounding. In 2012, of the 4.7 million bites, more than half involved children and 90 percent of dogs relinquished to shelters are there due to no training.”
She said that while reviewing her log on Piper, she realized she had enough information to do a series of children’s books on the importance of training and socializing puppies. She self-published three books in the series: Piper Gets a New Home, Piper’s First Experiences and Piper Goes To School. She said her goal is twofold.
“First, it is to help educate children in order to cut down on the number of dog bites involving children and to cut down on the number of dogs relinquished to shelters simply because they haven’t been trained,” said Leal. “I also want to show the positives of owning a dog, as in bringing the family unit closer by participating in activities with the dog, such as charity walks, competitions, etc.”
She said she researched other crowdfunding campaigns, but liked the policy of GoFundMe the best and has been happy with the service.
“Another site I looked at had a time limit, and if you didn’t reach your goal by that date, you didn’t get any of the donations,” she said. “I’ve found GoFundMe to be fair and easy to work with.”
Leal has done readings at the Bayville Library and the Boys & Girls Club of Oyster Bay-East Norwich. She has three events coming up in June that she hopes to have the books ready to sell by. Donate at www.gofundme.com/7pw8a8.
To learn more about GoFundMe and crowdfunding turn to page 4A.
