Help End the Student Debt Crisis!

I want to use crowdfunding to help end the student debt crisis. I know, firsthand how crippling it can be. In 1999 I decided, as a single mother, to return to school and try to better myself. I obtained first a Bachelor's and then thought a Master's would help me get truly set for a career. A few months after graduation, in 2007, the economy tanked and I was left without a lot of options. I ended up deferring my loans and working part time/contract jobs to make ends meet. About 6 years ago I started paying on my loans, at the time about 125,000, and really tried to get them down... but the interest made the principal untouchable, and now the total I owe is 184,000 dollars. Imagine how stressful it is to be in debt to this amount, and how helpless I feel... when all I was trying to do was better myself. At the beginning, with my degrees, I thought I would be able to make enough to pay it off in a few years, but that goal is now, as far as I can see, unreachable. I have been doing the Income Based Repayment plan for four years, but that doesn't end the interest compounding (at 5.25% it's pretty huge each month), and I have been ruled by the worry about this debt. And I know there are so many people who live with this same weight on their backs.

A friend suggested I create a Go Fund Me for this, and see if I couldn't get the larger community to help me and in turn, others, out. If 200,000 people give just 1 dollar each, or if 42,000 gave 5 bucks, I would be out of debt in no time (and pay GoFundMe their 7.9%fees). I would be so grateful for the help, and would also like to see if it's possible to achieve this goal via appealing to the kindness of strangers. We've seen how people can pull together for the little guy in the past, and despite my initial hesitation to do this, I feel like I have no other choice (except to live with the debt over my head forever...). And, as we move forward, there will be more and more campaigns, and we can use this momentum to end student debt by helping one another. It's better than waiting for the government to help, and it'll give us a sense of community. Something to reach for, to strive for, and to benefit from. Win and win!

So, for less than the cost of bus fare, of a newspaper, or a latte, you'd help end a nearly decades worth of stress for a single mom who really thought she was doing the right thing in seeking an education. Who thought she'd be able to pay off the loans inside 5 years. If you can, consider a little donation and start the snowball toward everyone being out of debt!

After the fees, which, if I meet my goal, I would be able to write Navient and the Federal Student Aid programs each a check and be done with them... which would change my life. Imagine this, for everyone!

So, in essence, I am wondering, can you spare a dollar? And can you pass this on to your friends? I know I am not the only person living with this crushing debt, and I pledge to pay forward what I can. Every time.

So, to sum it all up, your donations would change my life and the lives of others. We would all be eternally grateful.

With love and many, many thanks,

Mara