GettyA GoFundMe page has been set up seemingly to raise money for ladders which will be used against Trump’s border wall.
There’s been a lot of plots to overcome the president’s plan to create a physical border between the US and Mexico since he got into power in 2017.
Some people have been digging under the wall, others have attempted scaling over it, and the Cards Against Humanity company even planned to buy a plot of land on the border to prevent the wall reaching its completion.
My boyfriend once told me that for the amount of money it costs to build the wall, you could buy everyone in the US a waffle maker and a lifetime’s supply of waffle mix, essentially ending hunger issues in Northern America.
PAI’m not sure entirely how he figured that out, but he’s American so a lot of his time goes into judging everything Trump does.
Anyway, the POTUS opted for building borders rather than ending starvation, so we’re back to figuring out a way around the wall.
The GoFundMe page titled ‘Ladders To Get Over Trump’s Wall’ seems to be offering a fairly basic solution to the border, but there’s actually a much deeper reason for the page.
As the person behind it probably realised there would be some backlash for just hopping over the wall using a ladder, they came up with an alternative way to battle Trump’s message of separation.
‘Ladders To Get Over Trump’s Wall’ is dedicated to preventing the wall being built – though they admit it would take a hell of a lot of donations to reach that goal. Approximately $21.7 billion worth of donations, to be exact.
As raising that amount of money is quite ambitious, the site description explains money raised will go to for Refugee and Immigrant Center for Education and Legal Services (RAICES), a Texas-based charity which helps with legal services for immigrant children, families, and refugees.
The page reads:
We saw some folks are raising money for a border wall to keep out our migrant siblings and fellow human beings, who are fleeing violence and persecution and whose tragically-underpaid labor is essential to the U.S. economy.
Seems like a bad idea on countless levels for everyone involved. Maybe we should focus on human rights and creating a community that reflects our supposed values.
And even though at a rate of $1.7 million daily, it would take their fund about 35 years to raise the $21.7 billion that Trump’s own Dept. of Homeland Security says would be needed to build said wall, we wanna make sure ladders are ready to send over to our undocumented friends and help them.
GettyIt continues:
If this seems ludicrous, we welcome you to the coalition of reasonable adults.
Should we not reach our goal–or should they (ahem) not reach theirs–all funds raised will go to the Refugee and Immigrant Center for Education and Legal Services (RAICES) , a Texas-based 501(c)(3) nonprofit agency that promotes justice by providing free and low-cost legal services to underserved immigrant children, families, and refugees.
You see, they’ll never reach their goal, but no matter how much we raise, we’re going to reach ours:
Supporting an organization working to help immigrants seeking legal asylum. This GoFundMe isn’t really about ladders at all. It’s about lifting people up.
The page has a goal of $1 million set, and in just one day has raised $61,856.
Speaking to the Daily Dot, Charlotte Clymer, creator of the page, said the GoFundMe was set up after a Twitter account joked about making a fund for ladders.
She explained:
I laughed and then thought: ‘Wait… why not?’
I’m a big fan of RAICES and proud of the work they’re doing in Texas. They love the project, and we’re in the process of adding them to the GoFundMe page as a team member so they can withdraw the funds directly when this ends.
If we keep up a steady rate of donations, I see no reason not to have the page active for a few weeks. In any case, once it plateaus and ends, RAICES will transfer the funds on their own.
You can donate to Ladders To Get Over Trump’s Wall here.
If you have a story you want to tell, send it to [email protected].
Emily Brown first began delivering important news stories aged just 13, when she launched her career with a paper round. She graduated with a BA Hons in English Language in the Media from Lancaster University, and went on to become a freelance writer and blogger. Emily contributed to The Sunday Times Travel Magazine and Student Problems before becoming a journalist at UNILAD, where she works on breaking news as well as longer form features.