Taylor Swift donates £36,400 to mother of five whose husband died of coronavirus

Taylor Swift has come to the aid of another family affected by the COVID-19 pandemic, donating £36,400 (US$50,000) to a woman who lost her husband to coronavirus.

On Tuesday (March 23), Swift and her mother, Andrea, jointly donated the total goal amount of a GoFundMe appeal for Vickie Quarles, a mother of five daughters who was widowed after her husband, Theodis Ray Quarles, died of coronavirus just one week before Christmas.

Taylor and Andrea Swift’s donation is visible as the top donation on the GoFundMe page.

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Thanks to the lump sum donation from the Swifts, DeQuanda Smith, a close friend of the Quarles family who began the appeal, has now crowdsourced a total of £44,935 (US$61,700) at the time of writing.

Describing Theodis’ death on the GoFundMe description, Smith wrote, “Theodis’ transition will forever leave a void on the Quarles team. Alyssa, Anaya, Asia, Allie and Aryah will miss him at breakfast, at their class plays… and ultimately their weddings.”

“I decided to launch this GoFundMe initiative in support of Vicki and her girls to offer financial relief and [reduce their family’s] worry from things… as well as for their continued growth.

“I am confident that their father, Theodis Ray Quarles, will be smiling from heaven when his little teacher, doctor, CEO, nurse or entrepreneur makes her mark in the world.”






Swift has been known to make charitable donations to various causes.

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Last December, the ‘Folklore’ singer gave £10,000 (US$13,000) to two Nashville mothers struggling to pay rent and bills due to the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, also via GoFundMe.

Alongside that donation, Swift wrote, “I read about you in the Washington Post and thought it was really brave of you to share your story. I’m so sorry for everything you’ve had to go through this year and wanted to send you this gift, from one Nashville girl to another. Love, Taylor.”

Also in 2020, Swift donated £23,000 to help a UK student with university fees, as well as £2,423 (US$3,000) to a New York-based fan seeking financial aid at the onset of the coronavirus crisis. She later donated the same amount to three other fans.