US: GoFundMe becomes lifeline during shutdown

By Umar Farooq</p> <p>WASHINGTON (AA) – As the partial government shutdown reaches day 25, government employees have turned to online fundraising platforms to cover expenses while they wait to receive paychecks.</p> <p>Many workers took to GoFundMe to launch pleas for help, revealing the negative impact that the shutdown has had on a workforce of around 800,000 employees.</p> <p>More than 1,500 fundraising campaigns have been created on the crowdfunding site, spokeswoman Katherine Cichy told CNN on Tuesday.</p> <p>Accounts have raised around $300,000 since January, when many of the accounts were made.</p> <p>Arizona resident Jo Ann Goodlow took to GoFundMe after the shutdown caused her paychecks to stop. Goodlow, a single mother, wondered how she was going to provide for her three children, two of whom are adopted relatives.</p> <p>&quot;I do work a part-time job, and have taken on some extra hours to try to make do. But the realty of it is that those extra hours, plus donating plasma twice a week for money are barely enough to pay the utilities,&quot; Goodlow said on her campaign page. </p> <p>&quot;The struggle is definitely real for me now.&quot;</p> <p>She was able to raise more than $14,000, surpassing her target goal of $5,000.</p> <p>Anna Cory, a librarian from North Carolina and contractor with the Environmental Protection Agency, first posted a “Government shutdown online yard sale” on Facebook to raise funds while she was not receiving a paycheck. She is selling rare and antique books from the 1800s.</p> <p>&quot;As a librarian, that’s what I value, that’s what I treasure. It hurts to let this stuff go,&quot; Cory told The Washington Post. &quot;I've had a couple friends who've said, ‘I wish we could buy your things and just give them back to you,’ which would be fantastic but it’s not always feasible.&quot;</p> <p>She created her campaign last Friday, and in four days was able to raise more than $4,000, which she said gives her a little more breathing room as she continues to look for a permanent job.</p> <p>The common thread between many of the fundraising efforts is the desire for the shutdown to end.</p> <p>&quot;We just want to get back to work,&quot; Cory told CNN.