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Money Raised for Girls Who Needed Taco Bell WiFi to Do Work

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Over $130,000 has been raised for a California family after a photo of two girls using the free WiFi at a Taco Bell to do their schoolwork went viral.

The photo posted to Instagram caused social media users to start a fundraising campaign for the family.


A GoFundMe campaign was started by Jackie Lopez after she was able to find the mother of the two girls. When Lopez met the family, she found out that they were going to be evicted from a rented room on September 1, reported Today.

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My mom sent me this picture today. These 2 young girls were looking for a place with WiFi to do their school work so they sat near Taco Bell to connect to the free WiFi. A lot of us don’t have to worry about having a proper WiFi connection or a quiet place to work from home. Every student from preschool through college should have free access to reliable WiFi especially now. What can we do as a community to pull together for students who need something as simple as WiFi in order to succeed? Please share and tag people in our community who can help. UPDATE: THE GIRLS WERE IDENTIFIED BY THEIR SCHOOL DISTRICT AND GIVEN HOTSPOTS! I’M SURE THERE ARE OTHER CHILDREN IN NEED, I AM HOPING THEY ALL GET THE TOOLS THEY NEED! IF LOCAL BUSINESSES WOULD LIKE TO DONATE THEIR SPACE TO SET UP OUTDOOR INTERNET CAFES, PLEASE LET ME KNOW. I WOULD LOVE TO HELP RALLY UP SUPPLIES AND MAN POWER! I ENCOURAGE EVERYONE TO REACH OUT TO YOUR OWN COMMUNITIES TO HELP STUDENTS IN YOUR AREA PLEASE CHECK OUT THE UPDATE ON THE FALSE POLICE ALLEGATIONS MADE BY A REPOSTER OF THIS PICTURE! DO HOMEWORK BEFORE YOU DONATE TO ANYONE. UNFORTUNATELY THERE IS QUESTIONABLE BEHAVIOR. HOPING THAT THOSE HELPING HAVE GOOD INTENTIONS. -- Although I appreciate it, please don’t follow my page. It’s only public for now because of this picture but I will be erasing all new followers. #freewifi #salinas #equityineducation #socialinjustice #socialinequality #educationmatters #wififorall #educationforall #salinascalifornia #digitaldivide #cometogether #communitylove #ittakesavillage #saveourkids #dosomething

A post shared by ✌️ ❤️ -- (@ms_mamie89) on Aug 25, 2020 at 1:51pm PDT

“Tomorrow after all of the contracts are signed and the money is available to be set up for withdrawal, I will provide you all with her accountant’s EIN for you to personally verify, and her contact information where you could request statements for transparency on how her funds are being used," Lopez said in the post.

The Salinas City Elementary School District said after the photo went viral, they provided the family with wireless hot spots.

“The digital divide is very real, and delays in receiving needed technology are a statewide concern, we are grateful the state is making technology a priority and look forward to receiving these hotspots in our district,” Amy Ish, president of the district’s board of education said.

"Today" confirmed that the GoFundMe account was verified and the plaform is working to ensure all the money would be going to the family.

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