Jill Martin donates wedding gifts to pay for a student’s tuition

Today co-author Jill Martin and her husband will donate all the financial wedding gifts they have received to pay for the Fordham University student fees.

Steals & Deals host and her husband Erik Brooks supplemented 18-year-old Samantha’s tuition with their wedding gifts, as the student had already received a partial grant from Fordham and MSG. The Garden of Dreams Foundationwhere Martin first met a teenager.

“I met Samantha and her brother Sebastian many years ago through the Garden of Dreams foundation. I was immediately reunited with their entire family, ”Martin said in a statement to Page Six.

“My little buddy Sebastian is (now) 13 years old and he was born with cerebral palsy. His energy and love for life are evident every time you see him, ”the statement continued.

“Samantha (I can’t believe it) is 18 now – I remember when she was such a little girl! What a pillar of strength.

Samantha struggles with ulcerative colitis, a disease that made her home schooled at various stages in her life. Despite the adversities she faced, Martin said Samantha “managed to maintain a GPA 4.0” which secured her a place at the Bronx school.

“Her parents, Idalia and Abel, are the most wonderful, hardworking people. I just love this whole family, ”Martin squirmed.

“We are so excited that Samantha will be the great journalist we know she will be!”

Page Six announced that Martin and Brooks were married Saturday night at the New York Public Library. Her mother and father led her down the aisle, where her father continued the ceremony.

200 members of the immediate family and friends of the journalist participated in the wedding, including some stars of the series “Today”.