Taylor Swift has opened up her wallet to help one young girl’s dream of going to college come true. Teen Vitoria Mario recently sent up a GoFundMe account to help her raise money for her tuition at University of Warwick, where she had been accepted.
“I am a young Black 18 year old with a dream,” she explained on the page. “However, I am still in a position of uncertainty as I may not be able to attend university due to my circumstances.” Vitoria, who moved from Portugal to the UK four years ago, wasn’t eligible for loans or aid, and due to her family being “low income” they couldn’t help her with the fees.
That’s where Taylor comes in. The singer learned about Vitoria’s story and donated the equivalent of $30,000 to the fund to help her reach her goal. “Vitoria, I came across your story online and am so inspired by your drive and dedication to turning your dreams into reality,” Taylor offered. “I want to gift you the rest of your goal amount. Good luck with everything you do! Love, Taylor.”
And that’s not the only way Taylor is helping out folks in need. The singer actually did her part to try and help save independent record stores, surprising stores around the country with signed copies of “Folklore.” Several stores revealed the surprise Taylor contribution via social media, with copies limited to one per customer. “Fan reaction has been through the roof,” a rep for Newbury Comics tells Rolling Stone, adding, “many locations sold out almost instantly.”
The surprise promotion drove many young people to stores they likely wouldn’t have stepped into before. “[All involved members of the Alliance of Independent Media Stores] had our stores full of young people when we opened, most of whom had never been here before, seeing what a cool spot this is, and over the moon happy to get a signed CD,” says a representative from Nashville Grimey’s. “This was an incredible promotion. and the right way to do it!”
ONE MORE THING! As we told you, Taylor’s BFF Selena Gomez has her own cooking show on HBO Max, and apparently Taylor makes a cameo in an upcoming episode. In a preview for a future episode of “Selena + Chef,” Selena FaceTimes with Taylor to show off her Korean barbecue Texas breakfast taco.
