On August 1, 2020, Vitoria Mario shared a GoFundMe campaign to help fund her tuition, introducing herself as a "black 18 year old with a dream". Little did she know American superstar Taylor Swift would be the one to help her achieve her dream by donating $30,696 USD!
The GoFundMe description tells people that Mario was received an offer to study Mathematics at the prestigious University of Warwick, located in England. However, she is unsure if she would be able to due to her current circumstances. Originally from Portugal, she moved to the United Kingdom in 2016 to live with her family in Tottenham. She comes from a low-income family and they are not eligible for loans and grants as they do not have a "Home" status.
On top of that, her father had passed away and her mother is still living in Portugal. Despite being away from her parents, the sacrifice was worth it in her family's eyes, as getting a university education in the United Kingdom will help her later in life. Because of that, she has always been studious; she went from not speaking a word of English in 2016 to getting 100% A*s or As in the GCSEs.
She stated that she had emailed 442 firms to help her out and even went to some affluent postcodes in London to share her story, but was either rejected or left with no response.
She is currently a student at Brampton Manor Academy, which is an academy known for helping young Black and ethnic minority students gain entry to the top institutions in the United Kingdom.
The GoFundMe has only been up for less than a month, but she successfully surpassed her goal of £40,000, raising £47,840.
On a Tweet shared by Mario on August 26, 2020, she revealed Taylor Swift had donated $30,696 USD to her campaign, which was the amount Mario needed at that point to reach her goal. Swift even left a sweet message along with her donation that rads, "Vitoria, I came across your story online and am so inspired by your drive and dedication to turning your dreams into a reality. I want to give you the rest of your goal amount. Good luck with everything you do! Love, Taylor."
Mario shared the news with her followers on Tweet, where she shared a video of her thanking the celebrity for the donation. She revealed she did not know how to contact Swift and asked everyone to tweet Swift so she could see the thank you message.
Guys I made this video to thank Taylor, please tag her so it reaches her ️️#NextStopWarwick #taylorswift #swifties pic.twitter.com/9lkx8kO0U8 — Vitoria (@vitoriamariox) August 26, 2020
And Taylor did see it! She replied to the tweet, saying Mario's video had made her day. She commended her for working so hard in getting her grades and that she was honored to have been a part of her journey. She also hopes that the two find a way to meet one day.
This is not the first time Taylor Swift has done something charitable this month. Last week, it was announced Taylor Swift had sent a surprise shipment of signed "folklore" CDs to indie record shops for them to sell.
