British shoe shop worker, Thomas Feeney launched a crowdfunding campaign on Monday to bailout Greece that at time of writing had raised more than half a million dollars.
The campaign was started to help Greece pay back its $1.8 billion IMF loan, however, the country failed to repay the amount before the June 30 deadline.
After reports circulated in the media the campaign became so popular that it crashed Indiegogo’s servers with the page being offline for a few hours.
Indiegogo wrote on twitter: we’re experiencing connectivity issues due to overwhelming worldwide interest in the @GreekBailout campaign. Thanks for your patience.
The page was later restored and it continued to receive donations at an astonishing rate. A simple refresh of the page will result in the contributions amount to change upwards by a few hundred of dollars.
Thom Feeney, the person who began the fundraising campaign, said that he is from York, UK, and currently lives in London where he works in a shoe shop. He said that he began the campaign, which he noted has been received with great positivity, after having had enough of the Greek crisis going unsolved and people being influenced by it.
“I’m not just making a statement, this is a real attempt to do something. But at the very least it’s important to raise the issue of the plight of the Greek people at this time. Not just the profiles of politicians,” he said.
The donations will go to the Greek people, according to Feeney, who has attached rewards for the donors based on the sum given. 3 euros will get you a postcard from Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras while by giving 25 euros a donor will receive a bottle of Greek wine.
The campaign organizer expressed his confidence that the target can be reached, but also said that should it not, the donors will get their money back. The campaign will run for seven more days.
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