Honolulu, HI -- (SBWIRE) -- 06/19/2013 -- Alejandra Lalama, 25-year-old college graduate, has paid over $30,000 in student loan payments since 2008, but the student debt she owes has only gone down a few thousand dollars to $66,000. Like so many other student loan borrowers, she is caught in a debt trap between capitalized interest and interest on the principal balance. In addition to these problems, Hurricane Sandy stormed through her home town in New Jersey and destroyed her car. To get a leg up out of her financial mess, Alejandra started a CrowdFundEDU" href="http://bit.ly/11ygkoN">fundraiser on CrowdFundEDU, a site where people can crowd fund for anything related to education, including student loan debt.

This isn't a story of living beyond her means, not being responsible or not making payments. Alejandra has never been late on a payment or taken forbearance, even when she was laid off, because she knew how much her interest would pile up. She works full-time and lives at home with her mother but her salary, less than 30K, goes mostly to her private student loans with Sallie Mae and federal government student loans. After losing her Ford Explorer to the wrath of Sandy, she had to buy another car and is now struggling to make car payments and insurance in addition to the student loan payments.

Alejandra maintains a positive outlook, but wishes she had understood more about what she was getting herself into when she applied for financial aid at the young, idealistic age of an 18-year-old college freshman. Student loans are the only types of loans in the United States that cannot be discharged in bankruptcy.

The Fallen American Dream is a documentary film about U.S. students' struggles with the high cost of college education and student loans. Produced by the Student Body of America Association (SBAA), this film examines how the $1 trillion student debt epidemic is affecting the pursuit of the American Dream.

Always in search for viable solutions to help students, SBAA believes crowdfunding has enormous potential to help student loan borrowers dig themselves out of debt, or at least get ahead of capitalized interest and start paying down their principal balance. If student loan borrowers crowdfund to get ahead on their payments (or even pay them off), it could significantly lower the capitalized interest and total amount they would pay to lenders.

About Student Body of America Association
Student Body of America Association, (http://www.studentbodyofamerica.org), based in Honolulu, HI, is a 501(c)3 nonprofit organization operated exclusively for educational purposes. Our mission is to provide easily accessible information and resources to educate and support students nationwide in achieving an education, and to guide individuals to apply their knowledge and skills to make the best decisions on an individual and societal basis.

Student Body of America Association Press Page: http://bit.ly/15zBNmm

CrowdFundEDU Fundraiser: http://bit.ly/11ygkoN

For more information on this press release visit: http://www.releasewire.com/press-releases/release-3.htm

Nonprofit Organization Supports Scholarship Fund for Fantastic Magic Camp.

Honolulu, HI -- (SBWIRE) -- 06/12/2013 -- What started out as a way to share magic, juggling and puppetry skills with children has grown into a life changing experience for thousands of children and young adults. The Fantastic Magic Camp officially opened in June of 1993 in Austin, Texas, and was an immediate success. Kids liked it because it was fun; parents liked it because they saw their children enthusiastically learning new skills. At the end of the third year, renowned magician Cody Fisher pointed out that the Magic Camp was much more than just a place to learn magic, juggling and puppetry. It was, in his words, "a Life-Skills Camp".

Their Scholarship Fund program has allowed the Magic Camp to provide opportunities to hundreds of children who would otherwise not be able to attend, and so they are fundraising on CrowdFundEDU, a fundraising platform for education, to boost the number of scholarships they can offer this year. One of the greatest aspects of the camp is that everyone is welcome and everyone seems to fit in. The Fantastic Magic Camp is a mainstream camp that is extremely successful with special needs children. This is primarily due to the founders Kent Cummins (the original owner and creator of the Magic Camp) and Peter Hinrichs, who strongly believed that every child has special needs. For the last twenty-one years, this philosophy has been the backbone of the camp, which has become a summer home to thousands of children in Texas. There have even been a few campers who came from as far away as Japan.

On any given day during the summer, you are likely to find children with Down's syndrome or Autism, juggling, playing and learning magic along with blind, deaf or wheelchair bound kids as well as dozens of children whose special needs do not fit a medical diagnosis. Sometimes the children viewed by society as "mainstream" need more care and attention than those with medically defined conditions. However, at the Magic Camp, none of that matters. Everyone is part of one big happy and somewhat nerdy family.

While the campers range in age from five to twelve, there is a second phase of the camp which is truly inspiring. When campers reach the age of thirteen they are allowed to join the camp's Youth Leader Training Academy. Over the course of the year, they receive over 70 hours of intense life skills and management training. They are then allowed to attend the camp for free for one summer as they shadow one or more of the counselors. Over the course of the next few years, they will receive as many as 300 hours of training. Some of them have gone on to become staff members and even camp directors. Every single person who works there, was once a camper at the Fantastic Magic Camp.

One of the campers in the very first session of the Magic Camp had part of his tuition paid by a group of his neighbors and the rest was paid by the owner of the camp. He later on went on to become a counselor, a staff member, a camp director and eventually a member of the board of directors. Since then the scholarship has become more formalized and it has allowed hundreds of amazing children the opportunity to share in the joy of this amazing camp.

Many contributors to the scholarship fund once attended the camp themselves. Their generosity that enables a new generation of children to have fun and learn magic and life skills embodies the "pay it forward" spirit of Student Body of America Association's Project Pay it Forward program. Project Pay it Forward, the second documentary film currently in pre-production, illustrates many examples of how implementing the pay it forward concept with education will pave the path towards a brighter future.

About Student Body of America Association
Student Body of America Association, (http://www.studentbodyofamerica.org), based in Honolulu, HI, is a 501(c)3 nonprofit organization operated exclusively for educational purposes. Our mission is to provide easily accessible information and resources to educate and support students nationwide in achieving an education, and to guide individuals to apply their knowledge and skills to make the best decisions on an individual and societal basis.

Student Body of America Association Press Page: http://bit.ly/15zBNmm
Fantastic Magic Camp Fundraiser: http://bit.ly/14k9BT2
Fantastic Magic Camp Logo: http://bit.ly/13yCls2

For more information on this press release visit: http://www.releasewire.com/press-releases/release-3.htm

Son Vows to Fulfill Dad’s Dream of Seeing Him Graduate College.

Philadelphia, PA -- (SBWIRE) -- 06/04/2013 -- Ryan Francis wants nothing more than to complete his senior year at Temple University so his dad can see him graduate before it's too late. He left college two years ago to help his family when his father suffered a second stroke and was left with more disabilities and unable to work. Now, Ryan is struggling to pay down his student debt so the hold on his account will be released and he can receive financial aid to return to college. He's worked very hard the past two years but still needs $7,000 so he has turned to CrowdFundEDU, a crowdfunding niche website for education, to start a fundraiser to help him finish college and make his dad proud.

Ryan's college experience has been filled with many challenges unknown by many of his peers. He worked two jobs as a full-time student while also helping with his dad's care. But he managed to juggle these responsibilities until financial constraints forced him to leave college. The limited money he earns goes to bills, food and to help support his family, with the few remaining dollars going to student loan payments. His father is a fighter, but Ryan realizes he doesn't have that much time left.

And so Ryan is fighting to make his dad's dream of seeing him graduate college come true. Although his father has significant brain injury and cannot eat or speak, he is very aware of what's happening around him and smiles in response to jokes and good news. He still loves the Washington Redskins, his favorite band the Police, and when his sons visit. And he would still love to see his son finish college.

Ryan has only 24 credits to go, and is determined to return in July for summer session. Can you think of a better Father's Day gift for Ryan to give his dad? Student Body of America Association, a 501c3 nonprofit organization, is a proponent for all students to achieve an education, but this story in particular, right before Father's Day, has us especially rooting for Ryan's success.

Student Body of America Association Press Page: http://bit.ly/15zBNmm

CrowdFundEDU Page: http://bit.ly/ZgkF5D

Ryan Francis Photo: http://bit.ly/17TAO4x

For more information on this press release visit: http://www.releasewire.com/press-releases/release-3.htm