Many federal workers and contractors are growing increasingly desperate as the calendar ticks toward a Friday without a paycheck.
Thousands are grasping at the kindness of strangers to help make the rent, the car payment, the day care. These are American workers who don't know how they'll pay their bills.
Type government shutdown into the GoFundMe site and the sad stories come pouring out, more than 1,400 campaigns so far.
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Julie Burr is a contract worker for the Department of Transportation in Kansas City. The single mom has said she's in panic mode, taking extra shifts at her second job, but still unsure how she'll pay the rent.
Her goal was $5,000, but people have donated more than $10,000 so far. Burr emails that in addition to the generosity, she's also been slammed with horrible messages and threats.
Tyler Fralia said he's a federal worker in Ogden, Utah with a new baby, hoping for help to pay for diapers and food.
Then there are Robert and Tristan D. in Seattle -- 14 and 12 years old -- who say their federal worker mom needs money for her prescription medication, rent, and gas. They've raised almost $3,300 toward their $5,000 goal. And they write that their mom started crying when they told her about the money.
An anonymous TSA worker has raised about 400 dollars.
Twitter is also overflowing with the hashtag #ShutdownStories.
"The reason I need my job and pay!!!!," writes @TDelahunty, an Army vet and NASA worker in Florida. "Real people, not some statistic!!! Open the government!"
GoFundMe said it's set up a team to root out scams, and promises to reimburse donors up to one thousand dollars if their funds are misused.