If you've lived with debt at any point in your life, you know that it's not easy at all. Living with debt, however, is a reality for millions of Americans who have just graduated from college. They needed to take out student loans to finance their college education, only to find out that these loans would cripple them after they graduate.

As of 2012, there are 40 million Americans shouldering a total of $1.2 trillion in student loan debt, with the average outstanding balance amounting to $29,000. The problem with student loans is they are risky, they have horrifyingly high interest rates, and they don't really go away until you pay for them in full. The situation is so terrible that Senator Elizabeth Warren once said that financial institutions granting student loans "financially rape our children."

It’s indecent to let young people struggle through debt at the very beginning of their adulthood. And so I am asking you to help fund student loan counseling and financial education through this charity. Young people should not have to begin their adult lives in debt.

Sincerely, Helene Gray Author, "Understanding Personal Loans"