We did it in a shocking (to me) two days. Folaslade now has the money for room and board tuition. She will get to live in her dorm at the college of her choice. She will also take a huge step toward her dream of healing others by becoming a doctor. This is a life-changing event for her.
Two days ago, one donor agreed to pay half the tuition – $4,500. Last night, in my first ever 3 a.m. fundraising experience, a second donor offered to pay another $4,500, almost the exact amount we need to pay to Sienna College, where Folasade has been accepted on a full scholarship, to live on campus.
I’m happy and grateful beyond words. (Picture: Sue Silverstein, doing what she loves.)
This is a big deal. This is the real America, not the one you see on the news or read about in Washington. We are a country of big hearts and legendary compassion.
As Jesus Christ preached, we are called to wrap our arms around the refugee, the outcasts, and the poor in the name of humanity and compassion. If there is a God, this is what he or she wants us to do.
We once again accepted the challenge of finding our better sides and helping our troubled country become a kindler and gentler place.
One step at a time. One person at a time, from the bottom up.
Folasade was in an awful dilemma. Sienna, her first choice, offered her a full academic scholarship. But she had to pay to live at the school.
She lives outside Albany, and although the college is not far away, Folasade’s family does not have a car.
She commutes a half hour twice a day into Schenectady to go to Bishop Gibbons. The bus trip to Sienna is three and a half hours each way. That would have made going there impossible for her.
Very few refugee families have cars, and without the extra tuition for boarding, she would have had to switch to another school, not the school she knew was right for her.
Folasade was devastated at the idea. She plans to be a doctor so she can repay the good deeds done to her.
Now, she can live on the campus, study all she wants any time (she is an obsessive student), get to know her fellow students and teachers, and get started on her determination to get through medical school. She has not had an easy life. It just got easier. She can study instead of sitting on a bus all day. She might also have some fun every now and then.
Folasade
We were planning to launch a GoFundMe project for Folasade this afternoon, but after this donor support, we’ve decided to scrap GoFundMe – which takes 8 percent of all donations and fundraises a lesser amount.
Instead of GoFundMe, I’d like to raise an additional $3,000 for her expenses – clothes, room furnishings, pencils, pens, textbooks, money for movies and meals out, and the high costs of college.
The money owed that the donors paid is the room and board fees.
Not only will she get to go to the college of her choice, but she will also experience college and life on her own. Her family has been through a lot; they are not in a position to help her as much as they would like. Perhaps she could even have some fun. Folasade is serious about everything.
This is yet another victory for the Army Of Good and everyone out there eager to help others.
Our culture sometimes forgets that many good people all over the country are eager to do good, given a chance. We are a generous people, not a hateful cluster of whiners.
I’m going to see Folasade tomorrow at Bishop Gibbons. I’m eager to talk to her and take some pictures.
She wants me to make sure and thank all the people helping her. I know she plans to work two jobs all summer to raise money.
I must also mention the amazing Sue Silverstein, who is steering at least a dozen refugee students toward the colleges of their choice; it’s like having a dozen children for her. She is exhausted. Soladade’s triumph would never have happened without her.
She is also a saint; it’s the best and most apt description I have for her. We could never count the number of children she has helped and saved over her 24-year teaching career.
I want to start the new fundraising campaign for Fosalade’s expenses right now. I hope to raise $3,000 for her expenses now that the college will be paid for her tuition. The plan is for her to be a student monitor and advisor after the first year instead of making additional tuition payments.
If you want to help, you can donate to the Flosade Expenses Fund via Paypal, [email protected], Venmo, or Jon-Katz@Jon-Katz-13. You can contribute by check, Jon Katz, Flosade Expenses Fund, P.O. Box 205, Cambridge, New York, 12816. Please mention Flosade Expenses on all reviews or online donations.
You can also contribute with major credit cards on blog support.
Small donations are as welcome as large ones. The whole idea of the Army Of Good is mustering enough people to spread the cost. Small donations matter.
I am grateful to the two donors we found who stepped up to make this exceptional person’s dream of college and medical school come true. And I am jubilant thinking about how we have helped a worthy young woman follow her dreams.
Is there work more sacred than the work to help a child fulfill their destiny?
That’s awesome
I’m confused. You say she got a full academic scholarship, but you also said you needed $9,000 to pay her tuition. I thought the $9,000 was for her room and board, but you’re also saying that you want $3,000 more for that. Can you clarify? What did the academic scholarship cover, if not tuition? The academic scholarship does not include room and board. That’s why I refer to it as an academic scholarship.
The tuition is the room and board fees. The $3,000 for her personal expenses, as I wrote. Her scholarship covers the academic fees. We have raised enough money to pay the college fees and the donors understand exactly what they are paying for. I don’t set these fees, Joan; the college does; I just raise the money I am asked to raise.
If you have any questions about the college fees, please contact Sienna College, they can explain it to you.I wasn’t involved in those discussions. I can also put you in touch with her school officials – her teachers – who have worked out the costs with the college. Sienna does not include room and board in its scholarships. The $8,000 fee, worked out by Fosalade and her teachers, was paid for by two donors.
As Donald explained, the money owed is the room and board fees. The tuition is paid for now.
The money for expenses is just what it says – costs beyond the fees. If that isn’t clear, I’ll be happy let you know who to talk to, thanks for your interest. I am determined to help her get what she needs..
I think Joan was confused because you’re using the word “tuition” incorrectly. Tuition just refers to the price of the education itself, not room and board (those are fees). The sentence “The tuition is the room and board fees” therefore makes no sense. You mean “The money owed is the room and board fees.”
Thanks, Donald; I’m using the term the way the college does, and it is confusing, and I don’t fault Joan for asking at all. She asked a valid question, and I answered it as best I could. The teacher most involved can explain it to anyone with concerns. Academic terms are not my strong point. You said it better than I did.
I apologize for any confusion, I’ve been up all night the past two nights trying to get the money we need, and I didn’t spend much time on academic language, about which I know nothing. I hope this is now clarified. We have all the money we need for tuition and for room and board fees; the money we are seeking is for her personal expenses. (To Be clear, the school has paid for tuition, the room and board fees are now paid for also.
wonderful news about the generous donors for Folasade’s living expenses. She will breathe a sigh of thanks and relief, I am certain and sounds like she is a force to be reckoned with as far as her determination to achieve her goals! I think of you today, Jon, because I believe your sutures were coming out today…..hope all’s well on that front (or bottom, as it were)!
Susan M