Stanley Young, an unemployed widower, lost his Washington DC home in a fire two weeks ago. Staying in a Holiday Inn with his eight children, Young was trying to find new home for him and his family to live, however, his search was to no avail. On the verge of being kicked out, Young and his children received help from Nassir Jones, better known to the world as Queens rapper Nas.
Nas said "I could barely watch his tragic story on the news," and as a result, started a Crowdtilt fundraiser campaign online. He wrote the following statement on his Crowdtilt page:
I am also a single father, and we don't get enough credit in this country. I'm committed to helping Stanley and his eight (yes 8!) kids. Moreover, I believe and hope that we should all, as a community, come together to help our fellow American men and women when they need us in desperate situations like this. See if you can't find a few dollars to help the Youngs get back on their feet with me. We need to raise enough to extend their stay, and maybe even afford a down payment on a new house or something.
This is real. It is me. I'm putting in $5,000 myself. Never done something like this, but I have faith that our American community can pull together a miracle for this strong family who needs our help right now. We've already made our first, $20,000 goal, and I've put in another $5,000 on top.
Thanks and God bless.
The initial goal was to reach $50,000, but since the fundraiser's launch, the Young's have received over $62,000 from more than 2,100 donations, one of which was from Nas for $5,000. Also, within the first couple of hours of the campaign, news sources XXL, Hip Hop DX, CBS Local, and ABC News have covered this.
Stanley Young told ABC that "so many people just came out of nowhere and put out money and we were blown away... It's been surprising how much they did within a couple of hours. That is so amazing to me. It's overwhelming." One of Young's daughters, 11-years-old Camille Young, also told ABC that "out of nowhere a random guy just came out and called my dad - in some ways it kind of felt like it was a miracle."
With four days left, their is still time for you to help the Young's with a contribution on Nas' Crowdtilt page. Watch ABC's coverage of the Young's tragedy and Nas' benefaction below.
