Entertainment

Taylor Swift Donates $50,000 To Family Whose Father Died Of COVID-19

by Christina Marfice
Neilson Barnard/Getty Images

Taylor Swift and her mom, Andrea, donated $50,000 to a family in need after they lost their husband and father to COVID-19

Taylor Swift has a long history of being extremely generous, both to her fans and to anyone in need. She’s known for “Swiftmas,” when she sends care packages to her Tumblr fans around the holidays. She’s also made headlines for donating to students in need, a fan with cancer, and so much more. And now, she and her mom have given $50,000 to a family that lost its husband and father to COVID-19 in December, allowing them to surpass their fundraising goal.

The GoFundMe was set up by a family friend after Theodis Ray Quarles, an insurance sales manager from Memphis, lost his battle with COVID-19 on Dec. 18. In the description, they wrote about the loving wife and five daughters who are now without a husband and father.

“Just as superstars and legends are seldom replaced, Theodis’ transition will forever leave a void on the Quarles team,” it reads. “Alyssa, Anaya, Asia, Allie and Aryah will miss him at breakfast, at their class plays, proms, recitals, graduations, college entries…and ultimately their weddings.”

Swift and her mom made their donation on Tuesday. The original fundraising goal was $50,000, and with Swift’s help, the family has now raised well over $60,000.

In a message posted to the GoFundMe page, Vickie Quarles, Theodis’s wife, thanked Swift specifically.

“I would like to especially say thank you to Andrea and Taylor Swift for your thoughtfulness and generosity from our home state of Tennessee. I appreciate the sweet personal note, it warmed my heart,” she wrote. “The road ahead will definitely not be the same without Theodis but with each day I am humbled and anchored in hope that I can continue to raise the girls to be as compassionate and caring as all of you.”

Taylor Swift is well known for giving to fans and people in need.

This is far from the first time Swift has helped out a person in need. Last year, she gave $30,000 to the GoFundMe of a student who was struggling to pay her tuition.

In 2015, Swift was the reason that GoFundMe raised its donation limit, after she had to give $50,000 to an 11-year-old fan battling leukemia in four separate installments.

Swift has also been giving back to fans in need during the COVID-19 pandemic. In addition to donating to fans directly, she’s posted about supporting the World Health Organization and Feeding America, and asked her fans to do so, too.