A GoFundMe has raised more than $100,000 for a single mother who was arrested for leaving her kids at a motel so she could go to work.

Per the Independent, 24-year-old Shaina Bell was taken into police custody in the middle of her shift at a Little Caesars Pizzeria in Liberty Township, Ohio, on Thursday night.

According to the authorities, they had found her two young children - a two-year-old girl and a 10-year-old girl - alone at a Motel Six in the area.

Bell had insisted that the kids were being monitored every hour by someone she knew and that she'd be with them by 10:00PM.

Credit: Turnbull County Sheriff's Office

However, the police decided to charge the young mom with two counts of child endangerment. Bell pleaded not guilty to the charges and was locked up overnight.

When her story was picked up by local media, however, a number of people rushed to her defense on social media - including a congressman.

"Women are damned if they do or damned if they don’t," Rep. Ruben Gallego wrote on Twitter. "Stay at home with your kids and receive government assistance and you are a leech, go to work for poverty wages and can’t get consistent sitters and go to jail."

It wasn't long before a GoFundMe page was set up for the working mom. Danielle Hosey, who says she is Bell’s mother, wrote as part of the fundraiser:

"Shaina is a single mother of three young children. She works hard and she loves her family very much.

"On Thursday February 11, 2021 Shaina was arrested at her job and taken to jail for leaving two of her children (ages 10 and 2) alone in their hotel room while she went to work.

"She was released the next day but found herself in the need of immediate housing."

Hosey went on to say that the campaign was set up to help Bell and her children raise the money they need in order to secure permanent and safe housing.

She continued:

"Everything raised will go directly to establishing a safe and permanent home for Shaina, Faith, Jai'Sean and Jade.

"We understand that everyone has a story and we are grateful that you are listening to ours.

"From the bottom of our hearts we not only appreciate the financial contributions, but also the outpouring of support in the form of kind words and understanding."

The target of the GoFundMe page was to raise $5,000, a goal that has been exceeded by a very large amount. In fact, at the time of writing, a total of $112,689 has been donated.

A number of the donors also shared their respect for the young mother who is simply trying to juggle childcare and making ends meet amid a tough economic climate.

One person shared: "You are obviously a great mother providing for your children. I’m so sorry this happened to you. Wish I could give you a hug!"

Credit: GoFundMe Credit: GoFundMe

Another wrote: "It's just wrong that a parent has to choose between earning a wage and providing child care. Stop criminalizing working class single women!"

A mom-of-three was left in tears after a kind stranger decided to pay for her grocery shopping when she was short on a few dollars.

Beth Nelson from the Manchester area in the United Kingdom took to TikTok to recall an interaction that happened between her and a stranger while the pair were at the grocery store.

After realizing she didn't have enough money to cover her weekly shop, which totaled up to £41.65 ($50.55), the distressed mom was left compromising on the things she would need for her children when a good samaritan approached her.

"I was doing the food shop today... and this is all we've got for a family of four for a week," Nelson said through tears as she showed her followers a counter filled with everyday necessities.

Credit: Andresr/Getty

"I got to the till and I didn't have enough... and people were staring at me," she continued. "I was trying to decide what do we need more than something else and somebody came forward and paid the extra."

The mom-of-three then stated that the woman had also said that she "wants a word with [her] outside," to which Nelson thought that she was going to be berated, but instead, it was quite the opposite as the stranger offered her some kind words instead.

She even gave her a bit of extra money to help her through the week before offering her a big hug.

"The woman was really nice," Nelson said, after re-composing herself. "She gave me a massive hug and said that she had been in the same position before. She reminded me that just because I am struggling at the moment does not mean that I am a bad mom."

Have a look at the full video below:

Hundreds of TikTokers took to the comment section to also offer their kind words to the emotional mother.

"That lady was there for a reason, I guarantee your chance will come along to be that Lady," wrote one user while another added: "I know this too week, I have to make £20 stretch for me and my son every week. I go without so he doesn’t, you’re a great [mom] doing her best."

"You are NOT a bad mom, things are so hard right now, the struggle is real, you're not the only 1 so don't ever think u are less than, chin up, big hug," commented a third.

And this user told Nelson not to think she's a bad parent: "Please NEVER ever think your [sic] a bad mom for struggling. You are doing your best for your family & that is all you can do."

"Bless I’m in that position myself and I’ve still paid for an old man’s shopping who had pennies in his hands. Cost of living crisis is killing us," said this TikToker.

The UK has been experiencing a cost of living crisis since 2021. Credit: SEAN GLADWELL/Getty

The United Kingdom is currently seeing an overwhelming cost of living crisis ever since 2021 which means that the cost of everyday essentials like food and bills has been increasing more quickly than the average household income.

According to Crisis, this current environment combined with existing issues such as rising rents, low wages, and a lack of affordable housing has "created a perfect storm for people who were already struggling with unrelenting pressure."

Featured Image Credit: Oscar Wong/Getty

For people who can't afford certain things in life, fundraising platforms can be an excellent tool. In the states, for example, where universal healthcare is not available, many individuals find themselves asking strangers for help to pay their medical bills. Likewise, folks who are trying to raise money for less privileged areas - where people could be in desperate need of essential items such as water, food, or shelter - may turn to fundraising sites for help, as might people who need emergency cash to help pay for an operation for a pet, or a sudden home repair. Basically, these sites are normally used to pay for necessities; so, when one mom set up a GoFundMe to take her kids to Disneyworld Florida, she got a lot of hate. Niki Smith, a 33-year-old mom from the UK, set up a campaign to raise £7,000 ($9,700) to take her two daughters on the holiday of a lifetime. In the post, she explained that the young girls - aged 10 and 12 - had "lost two very special people in [their] lives" over the past two years, and that she wanted to "make [their] dreams come true" by taking them on a trip. Unfortunately, because she is a single parent, she only has the time to work two nights a week at her local hospital, and therefore does not have a big enough income to go on vacation. Plus, as all donations on GoFundMe are voluntary, she didn't think she was doing any harm by asking for a little help with her finances. As it turns out, though, she was wrong. Thousands of people shared her original fundraising post, with many labeling her a "beggar" and a "scrounger". Hateful comments were left on her Facebook page, with one irate man saying, "PAY FOR YOUR OWN HOLIDAYS!!!!" and a woman adding, "Why should the rest of us scrimp and save !!! For her to scrounge?" After a while, there was so much abuse that Smith found herself writing a defensive post on the GoFundMe page. "I am not a bad person," she wrote. "I also am not asking people for their hard earned money, people have a choice." She went on: "I love my children and my job, I'm a carer and haven't been able to get any more hours at work. Nightshifts are not easy to come by. I do try.  "The press have made me out to be an awful person when I was only thinking of my children and making them happy. I have never used GoFundMe before so I should have looked into it more. "I thought this section of the website was for funding hopes, dreams and wishes ... I looked in the category and a lot of people were doing similar things - even raising money for breast enhancements and cars. "I never meant to upset anyone. I'm traumatised by the abuse and negativity I have received." In the past, people have lied in order to raise money on platforms such as GoFundMe, but Smith was totally upfront and honest. If nobody wanted to give her any money, they didn't have to - so why complain? After getting so much publicity, the single mom did actually manage to reach her target goal and enjoyed a holiday with her kids, regardless of what the haters had to say.

A single mother has divided opinion online after she launched a GoFundMe where she asked for funds to help her build her "dream home."

Securing a home can be a long and expensive process, and one of the biggest challenges is often putting down a large deposit in order to be accepted for a mortgage. As a result, many of us spend years scrimping and saving to finally get the keys to our first home.

Kara-Louise Hoppo, a mother of four young boys, caused a stir when she posted on the "Darwin Buy Swap Sell" page on Facebook asking for donations totaling $40,000 in order to secure a new home.

The post has now been deleted since receiving a mixed response - with the other members of the group seemingly not too impressed at Hoppo's request.

Credit: GoFundMe

As reported by the Daily Mail, the initial post read: "We are in a bit of a housing predicament and I'm manifesting that we're going to get out of those permanently this year. I've found a way, but I can't do it without help."

Hoppo proceeded to post a link to a GoFundMe page, where further details were found about what the donations would be used for.

The single mother posted a lengthy description of her situation, detailing that: "We are needing to move from the home that we are currently in mainly due to health and safety reasons, in a rental market that is skyrocketing and we cannot really afford."

The self-dubbed "hippy family" would use the donations in order to buy two demountable homes which would be set up on a friend's plot of land, which would keep their rent low and they would be able to pay their friend back by helping out.

Hoppo revealed that she is currently unemployed but is "currently studying and by the end of this year intended to be a fully qualified energy healer and completely financially self-sufficient."

"I am asking for $40,000 total in donations. Or for min. 4000 kind hearted people to be willing to donate $100 worth of their yearly bought coffee budget," Hoppo wrote.

She stated that the seller of the demountable homes is negotiable on the asking price and is willing to hold off selling them for a month to see if the single mom can get the funds to be able to buy them.

Hoppo claims the donations would "change" her family's life and she gave a list of other expenditures, including furniture and electrician costs.

When the story was shared by local news outlet The Mango Inquirer on Facebook, it's safe to say that it did not go down well with readers.

"Wow, if only everyone could be funded to get their dream," one person wrote, with a second adding: "So... you want us to pay for your house... right."

Credit: Facebook Credit: Facebook

However, there are clearly many who support the doting mom's dream, as her GoFundMe has raised $4,300 at the time of writing from 51 donations.

After donating $20 to the cause, one person commented on the page: "I really hope you can get yourself a house. I wish everybody everywhere could be happy and get the things they need. The world can be dark - I want to be a bright spot despite that. I really hope you get your dream house and dream life!!!"

A second added: "Just a small donation but every little bit helps and I truly hope you can make your dreams come true. I read that there were negative comments but all I see is a mum trying to do the best for her kids.

"In a world where people fork out hundreds of dollars just to catch a glimpse of an 'influencer' and spend money on meaningless things wouldn’t it be nice if people were just kind and helped others."

Featured image credit: M4OS Photos / Alamy

A musician who hails from Tennessee has said that he will be able to cover his mother's rent for over a month thanks to a generous donation from TikTok star, Lexy Kadey, and her followers.

Kadey has garnered over 657,000 followers on the popular social media platform through her Venmo Challenge, which sees her ask her followers to Venmo her small amounts of money so that she can leave sizeable tips for waiters and waitresses, as well as others in need.

The man in question, Kevin, was standing outside a Nashville Target store playing the violin with a sign reading, "Need to help my mom with rent, God bless", on the 9th of August when he was approached by Kadey.

Watch the adorable clip below: 

[[tiktokwidget||https://www.tiktok.com/@lexylately/video/6858740317311520006]]

"Hey, how close do you think you are to your mom’s rent?" Kadey asks Kevin in the clip, which has since gone viral. "My mom’s rent is like $600, and I have like $175," he replies.

"So if I gave you $1,000, that would cover it?" Kadey proceeds to say, and Kevin is clearly stunned, as he says, "Excuse me?"

"Can I please give you a hug?" he finally says as the pair share a hug. "This is not real. Thank you."

Kadey's TikTok video has since amassed a whopping 6.4 million views and over 1.7 million likes, at the time of writing.

[[imagecaption|| Credit: TikTok / Screenshot]]

And her followers duly took the comments to praise her for her philanthropy. "This was someone who was in dire need," commented user wrote. "You’re doing the Lord’s work, literally."

“The fact that he’s showcasing such an incredible talent to help his mom — who probably worked a lot to help pay his lesson… I’M CRYING!!!!" corroborated another TikTok user.

This is Kadey's ninth round of crowdsourcing to fun the Venmo Challenge. Per Yahoo News, she has, in total, raised $6,857.47 to distribute to those who need it.

[[imagecaption|| Credit: TikTok / Screenshot]]

The TikToker started the challenge back in May after watching other users of the platform crowdfund for things such as new cars and plastic surgery.

Since then, she has filmed over 32 videos of herself changing people's lives through both her generosity, and that of her community on TikTok.