Thousands of American student loan borrowers who work as teachers, police officers, nurses, or in other public service jobs may soon benefit from a $350 million one-time expansion of a federal program that could forgive their remaining debt. This is exciting news for student loan borrowers saddled with debt that is often described as an overwhelming burden. This is a HUGE step towards offering relief to more than 3.1 trillion student debt borrowers. Created in 2007, the program was designed to help student loan borrowers in public service jobs get their remaining debt forgiven if they made 120 repayments, roughly 10 year’s worth, under a qualifying repayment plan. Each repayment must be made in full and on time. The borrowers must work full-time for a qualifying employer, such as a federal or local government agency, or an eligible non-profit organization. The program is limited to student borrowers who took out direct loans from the federal government. Private loans and non-direct government loans don’t qualify. However, borrowers may qualify if they consolidate their existing debt into direct loans. Their repayment clocks start when they do. https://amp.usatoday.com/amp/453637002
Rev. Dr. Donna Taylor is the Pastor of Andrew Chapel United Methodist Church (UMC) in Montross, VA. Rev. Dr. Taylor promotes best practices by teaching financial literacy workshops and currently serves as Finance Chair in the Rappahannock River District for the UMC. In May 2015, Rev. Dr. Taylor received her Doctor of Ministry from Virginia University of Lynchburg in Lynchburg, Virginia. Rev. Dr. Taylor was born and raised in New York City and recently discovered her ancestral roots in Guinea-Bissau, West Africa. Rev. Dr. Donna Taylor is married to David Taylor and they have a son and a daughter. Their daughter is a educator and son is an Active-Duty Senior Seaman in the Navy married with three children. In her leisure time, she enjoys traveling, reading, swimming, writing poetry, crocheting and spending time with her family.