Eddie Vedder has given $10,000 to a struggling family to help them stave off eviction, having seen the mother’s appeal go viral online.
Tyshika Britten wrote a post on Craiglist last week about her family’s financial struggles and the fact that they were about to be thrown out of their house.
The Maryland hairdresser wrote, “I’m such a failure right now… please help me.”
The story was picked up by The Washington Post, and Tyshika went on to set up a GoFundMe page – her initial goal of $6,000 has long been surpassed – the total is now at €18,000, enough to pay rent for a year, while she received a cheque for €10,000 in the post from Vedder.
“I was just so moved by the story and what this mother did for her children,” Vedder told the Washington Post. “I thought those kids must be so proud of their mother for reaching out. That takes a lot of courage.”
Vedder says that the family’s plight reminded him of Christmases when he was young.
“There were years there were toys from Santa, but they were used and they came from garage sales and they didn’t always work.”
The Britten family – including Tyshika, her six children and her fiancé – are still at risk of being thrown out of their home. Their landlord is due to visit on Tuesday and has indicated that he is not likely to change his mind.
