Taylor Swift Donates $3,000 Each to Fans Affected by Coronavirus Crisis: 'I Was Just Speechless'
Taylor Swift is helping out fans with their bills amid the ongoing coronavirus (COVID-10) pandemic.
On Wednesday, the “Lover” singer, 30, donated to several fans who publicly expressed their financial struggles during the global health crisis. One of them was Samantha Jacobson, who received a $3,000 donation after writing on her Tumblr that she has “no job, no income, no way to pay my bills” after her workplace shut down over coronavirus concerns.
“I was in shock,” Jacobson — a 24-year-old cocktail server at a bar in Disney Springs in Orlando, Florida — tells PEOPLE of Swift’s surprise donation. “I was just speechless. I couldn’t believe someone I had looked up to and love and respected for so long has reached out with such generosity.”
According to Jacobson, Swift reached out to her on Twitter and offered to help alleviate some of her financial burdens.
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“It’s all gonna go to bills right now,” says Jacobson, who tells PEOPLE that she’s been out of work for 10 days since the bar closed. “I applied for unemployment and I’m looking to pick up a temp job, so this is really helpful right now at a time of uncertainty.”
As a Swift fan for 13 years and counting, Jacobson says the entire experience has been one “magical and incredible ride.”
“I’ve gown up alongside her and I’m just so thankful that she loves us the way we love her,” she says. “She’s always checking up on us, and she just makes me feel so loved and so important.”
Another Twitter user named India, who previously tweeted that her “new job was canceled for at least six months because of the virus,” also said she received $3,000 from the songstress. The fan shared screenshots of her exchange with Swift on the social media platform, in which the star said she’s like to donate to “help ease the strain.”
“I will literally never be able to repay her for the sheer gesture of it—Never-mind the actual amount which is 3 mnths of rent for me,” the fan tweeted. “It’s a wonderfully humble example of acknowledging that her small change can really impact someone else. I feel seen. Thanks, @taylorswift13.”
In summary: I’m shaking and crying and just fell over a rug in my rush to ask my brother if Taylor’s message was real &now I’m probably (definitely) concussed🥺🥰❣️♥️
This virus took my new dream job away but @taylorswift GAVE ME SOME JOY TONIGHT out of pure kindness I’M— #BEKind pic.twitter.com/13nSKM2uZH— India Rose | “KEEP GROOVIN’/USING CORRECT GRAMMAR” (@hopefulgoodgirl) March 26, 2020
I will literally never be able to repay her for the sheer gesture of it—Never-mind the actual amount which is 3 mnths of rent for me. It’s a wonderfully humble example of acknowledging that her small change can really impact someone else.
I feel seen.
Thanks, @taylorswift13— India Rose | “KEEP GROOVIN’/USING CORRECT GRAMMAR” (@hopefulgoodgirl) March 26, 2020
Previously, Swift urged fans to take precaution and practice social distancing as the highly contagious coronavirus continues to spread across the United States.
“I follow you online and I love you guys so much and need to express my concern that things aren’t being taken seriously enough right now. I’m seeing lots of get togethers and hangs and parties still happening,” wrote Swift on her Instagram Stories on March 16. “This is the time to cancel plans, actually truly isolate as much as you can, and don’t assume that because you don’t feel sick that you aren’t possibly passing something on to someone elderly or vulnerable to this. It’s a really scary time but we need to make social sacrifices right now.”
On Monday, Swift encouraged fans to focus on helping others during this trying time, writing on her Instagram Stories, “The World Health Organization and Feeding America are some of the organizations I’ve been donating to. If you have the ability to, please join me in donating during this crisis.”
As information about the coronavirus pandemic rapidly changes, PEOPLE is committed to providing the most recent data in our coverage. Some of the information in this story may have changed after publication. For the latest on COVID-19, readers are encouraged to use online resources from CDC, WHO, and local public health departments and visit our coronavirus hub.
