Fundraiser to reunite separated immigrant families goes massively viral.

There are several ways to get involved.

 Eric Pfeiffer
06.19.18
Photo by John Moore/Getty Images.

Three Facebook employees were heartbroken by the news of immigrant children being separated from their parents after being detained at the U.S.-Mexico border. So they decided to do something.

On June 16, they launched a fundraising campaign called "Reunite an immigrant parent with their child." It promised to deliver funds to The Refugee and Immigrant Center for Education and Legal Services (RAICES), a nonprofit that provides legal services to families who have been detained while attempting to cross the border.

Specifically, RAICES has two stated goals tied to this campaign:

  • Directly funding bonds to get parents out of detention and reunited with their children while awaiting court proceedings.
  • Ensuring legal representation for every child in a Texas immigration court.

In just four days, it has reached out an astounding $10 million in contributions from more than 260,000 individual donors.

In a statement posted to their Facebook page, RAICES said:

"We do not have the words to thank Charlotte and Dave Willner. Thanks is inadequate for the work these funds will make possible. We know it will change lives. We know it will save lives by keeping people from being deported to unsafe countries."

When the campaign started, it had a modest goal of a few thousand dollars. But the goal kept getting shattered as news of the campaign went viral. Three days later, the campaign hit a fundraising goal of $5 million coming from more than 127,000 individual donors.

Since then, the contributions have been snowballing at an epic level with no sign of slowing down.

For skeptics out there, the organizers have stated that Facebook is not taking fees from the campaign and the organizers have promised to deliver the raised funds to RAICES within 14 days of the campaign's completion.

"Until the election, I think there's little chance of a political solution to this grave American moral failing. But there is still something we can do," campaign co-founder Charlotte Wilner wrote on the fundraising Facebook page.

While $10 million is a hugely impressive number that will have real results, the sea of individual donors might be a more powerful message for elected officials.

It sends a strong message to public leaders that Americans demand humane policies — and they won't stand for it.

While most Americans are opposed to the White House policy of family separation, there is still strong support from Republican voters and officials. However, there are already cracks in what only days ago seemed like a united front, with Republicans breaking rank with Trump's handling of the issue.

Vocal statements like this campaign are essential to sending a clear message that even voters who favor strong enforcement of immigration laws will not tolerate the mistreatment of children and families.

Photo by Joe Raedle/Getty Images

Watching this story unfold across the news can make a lot of people feel helpless. But there are ways to help.

The White House has a significant amount of leeway in enforcing immigration policy and Trump appears to be digging his heels in. Short of waiting until this November's midterm elections, people are looking to do something now. This campaign is a good start, but here's what else you can do:

Update 6/20/2018: The great increase in amount of contributions the first few days of the campaign from $5 million to $10 million was added to this post as well as that it has become Facebook's most successful fundraising campaign ever.

immigration facebook aclu family separation policy
More

This adorable Twitter thread captures a woman's surprise reunion with her foster dog

There's nothing like a good reunion story to get you misty in the ol' tear ducts. Kate Howard, the managing editor of Kentucky Center for Investigative Reporting, shared a story of randomly running into the dog she used to foster on Twitter. You know all those dog reunion movies? The ones with names like A Dog's Hope and A Dog's Sloppy Kiss? The ones that make you cry buckets no matter how hard you think your heart is? Well, this is that, but in real life.

Keep Reading Show less
pets dogs foster dogs
popular

America's mayors look to bypass Trump and take part in the UN climate change conference

via Wikimedia Commons

The great thing about American democracy is the separation of powers. The federal government has rights, states have rights, counties have rights, cities have rights, and we, as people, have rights, too.

Heck, even animals have some rights in the good ol' U S of A.

The president of the United States is not a king or a dictator so a team of U.S. mayors, led by Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti, are asking to go over his head to negotiate directly at next month's UN climate change conference in Santiago, Chile.

Keep Reading Show less
eric garcetti america's mayors paris climate agreement un climate conference america's cities un climate conference
popular

James Van Der Beek's pregnancy announcement casually helps destigmatize miscarriages

Instagram / James Van Der Beek

About one in five pregnancies end in miscarriage, although it is believed the number might be higher because many miscarriages occur before the woman knows she is pregnant. Miscarriage is actually quite common, yet many people who've had one feel alone, partly because there's still a taboo around talking about it. In order to reduce the stigma surrounding the loss, James Van Der Beek opened up about the struggles him and his wife, Kimberly, experienced.

The Van Der Beeks, who have been married since 2010, have five children and one on the way. In a pre-taped segment on "Dancing with the Stars," Van Der Beek announced that his family will be welcoming a new baby. But the segment gave us a more personal look as Van Der Beek revealed they've experienced three miscarriages as well. "We've had five kids and three miscarriages," Van Der Beek told his dance partner, Emma Slater. "Miscarriage is something that people don't really talk about, and we wanted to recognize that it happens to people. We wanted to destigmatize that as much as we possibly could."

Keep Reading Show less
popular
Capital One
Capital One

A grandmother wanted to give her grandchildren the life they deserved. This building has made it possible.

Courtesy of Capital One

It was around Christmas 2018 and Jean Simpkins, 79, was looking out the window of her new three-bedroom apartment. Eleven floors above Washington, D.C., the grandmother of two gazed out at the lights of the city and became overwhelmed with gratitude. "The only thing I could say," Simpkins remembers, "was 'Thank you, Father.'"

Almost a year later, Simpkins still can't help but look at the apartment as a miracle — one she desperately needed. Fifteen years ago, when her grandson was born, she became his primary caregiver. Six years later, when her granddaughter was four, Simpkins was awarded full custody of her, too. She's spent the time since trying to give her grandchildren the life she knows they deserve, which has been difficult on a fixed income. On top of that, Simpkins worried that the neighborhood the family resided in wasn't the best influence on her kids. Something had to change.

Then she learned about Plaza West, a new development created by Mission First housing that would reserve 50 of its apartments specifically for families in which a grandparent or other older adult was raising children who were related to them. The waiting list, Simpkins says, was daunting. There are a great deal of grandfamilies in the D.C. area and she was sure it might be years before she got the call. But soon after applying, she was offered a choice between a two-bedroom and a three-bedroom apartment. She accepted the latter, sight unseen. She knew that each of her grandchildren needed space of their own.

Keep Reading Show less
Future Edge
True
Capital One