NYC writer Ashley C. Ford has empowered hundreds of people to donate thousands of dollars as a result of a tweet she posted back in December.
In a previous tweet, Ford mentioned how she grew up relying on substitute meals.
Soon after, she encouraged her 68.6K followers to donate to local schools to help pay off student lunch debt. In the time since Ford’s original tweet various groups around the country have cumulatively raised over $100,000.
The Associated Press reported, “In Minnesota, an online fundraising effort has paid almost $100,000 in lunch debt in Minneapolis schools and $28,000 in St. Paul’s. Donors, mostly anonymous, erased $6,000 in debts in Topeka, Kansas, $2,000 in Bellevue, Washington, $1,200 in Wilmington, Delaware, and $900 in Herminie, Pennsylvania.”
The AP was also quick to point out that this is not the first time Ford has inspired thousands of dollars to be raised via Twitter. Back in 2014 she raised $450,000 in donations for the public library in Ferguson, Missouri.
She told the AP:
I sincerely just wanted to think of something really easy that people could do to make a difference locally. It was just one idea; another school might need help with uniforms or tutoring. The point was to do something that helps people in your community.
