Over $170k Raised in 24 Hours for Mother and Three Daughters Facing Eviction

By Peyton Phillips August 5, 2021

A mother of three from Las Vegas was facing eviction and did not know how she was going to pay her back rent. 24 hours later, kind strangers raised over $170,000 to help the family keep their home. The total is now up to $225,000.

On Monday, Aug. 2, Dasha Kelly was facing eviction and unsure how to pay her back rent. On Tuesday, Kelly was sitting on her couch, one of the only pieces of furniture left in her Las Vegas apartment, when she was told how much money was raised.

“I just want to tell everybody thank you so much,” said Kelly, with tears rolling down her face. “I’m still in denial.”

Last year, Kelly lost her job as a card dealer when casinos were forced to close due to the pandemic, and she has struggled to stay on top of her rent payments since. She started a GoFundMe page Monday night, hoping to raise $2,000 to cover the back rent she owed. “I had no idea what we were going to do,” said Kelly.

Within 24 hours, the fundraising campaign had reached over $172,000 from more than 2,700 donors. The campaign just reached $225,000 in donations from approximately 3,800 donors.

Kelly plans to deposit the money into savings accounts for her three daughters. She also plans to pay the remainder of her apartment lease and pay it forward for others. “It gave me a lot of hope,” Kelly told CNN. “And I just want to make sure I do the best that I can to help the next person that is in my same situation.”