Or-
The Tale of The Minerva Fund
A small desperate cry for help was heard by a mere handful of people in the dark of night... and then nothing more.
And so it began, a tiny snowflake in the night that could have so easily gone unnoticed.
One person took initiative, investigated & told a few others what she found out, shared the sad backstory.
A snowball effect happened as each told another of the problem at hand. Momentum began to build into a great avalanche of
Generosity & Caring.
People came from all over:
Some wonderful, kind, thoughtful, caring, fellow or former Minnesotans, many from out-of-state & some from other countries entirely.
People from all walks of life:
Those on social security, some out-of-work, others who still have jobs & some with disabilities
Some are family members and others had prior differences & suddenly saw one another in a new light.
There were those who stated they were "paying -it- forward" Others with the empathy & sympathy to imagine themselves or their loved ones in just this situation. So very many saying There but for the grace of...
& there were those not wanting to be noticed who gave anonymously saying nothing.
So very very much was given so freely....
Most importantly time.
A few grains of sand in lifes hourglass... a few seconds of time to Rec, or leave a comment... a few minutes to write, publish & tend a diary.
Time spent to leave Advice & suggestions about paypal fees & paypal calculators to workaround those fees; ideas put forth of contacting Catholic or Lutheran charity services and the Community Action Agency. There were helpful suggestions on outwitting the repo-man and the often un-thought of/overlooked idea of contacting your congressmen
Information & links were shared freely, from advice on creditors & estate law, Estate Assets Free Legal Services and how best to get them, links to Energy Assistance Program, MN Shut-off Protection, AEOA (Refinance counseling & Foreclosure Prevention), and the Lives in Transition Program and the address of the local Food Shelf and excellent info on filing for bankruptcy & what that means and a generous offer of help to answer questions about this.
Hundreds of donations.... from small amounts & those a bit larger....
So very many repeating some variation of the words
IF ONLY THIS COULD BE SO VERY MUCH MORE.
But it all quickly added up
There were those who bemoaned the fact they had nothing to give....
those who were, in fact, the most necessary ones of all.... those who left the All Important RECs, & told others through e-mail, facebook or twitter & especially the many who REC'd but didn’t leave a comment at all...
All who helped to get this situation "lifted up" where it would be noticed by the community.
From ALL of these came the willingness to reach out and help another, to extend heartfelt Good Wishes, to do what they could to ease another's burden.
Their reasons are many and varied.
in memory of others, because of being a bleeding heart liberal progressive or as a chance to do the right thing
They all show one thing:
The generosity of fellow Kossacks is truly amazing.
These people spoke the words that are in my heart better than I could ever do:
My grandma explained it to me:
When you are down and out, and nothing is going your way, you have to kick-start the good by giving something away. If you don't have money, you have time. If you have neither, you are going to have to burn the midnight oil - but you must give something away.
~llbear
I agree completely with your ideas of karma - everyone has ups and downs - part of our job is to help those on the downs when we're on the ups... if that makes sense =)
~debaterdanny
I don't know Minerva1157 or GlowNZ. I only log on to DK a few times a day, rarely post comments, and apparently missed the previous diaries. But I'm here now and I saw this diary that someone needs a little help. Seems so simple: someone asks and someone else (me) has a few bucks to share.
If a hundred people see the diary and think the same way, problems get solved -- or at least the most critical ones, so that the next problem can become the focus.
Thanks to all involved for allowing me to help.
~LisaR
& I must echo the Dear Lady GlowNZ:
Thank you everyone for helping out!
The response to this diary has been overwhelming.
Thank you all for coming to help out a fellow Kossack
Thank you from the bottom of my heart.
~GlowNZ