UPDATE: We have successfully raised well over $700 for the bigjac family. I won’t have a final figure until tomorrow. But GOAL MET. Thank you all.
Welcome to the weekly edition of Helping Humpday, dedicated to Kossacks helping one another. HHday resides at Street Prophets Coffee Hour, the intersection where politics and religion and history and ethical values conveniently meet and sometime collide.
Humpday — because we’re smack dab in the middle of the work week and getting over that hump sure looks sweet. But for some folks in this community, the humps they need to get over are far more daunting than looking forward to the weekend. That is where Helping comes in. Helping Humpday is specifically about generating support for struggling Kossacks who find themselves facing an imminent financial emergency like keeping the lights on, avoiding eviction, getting to work. Our goal is to publicize the Community Needs List as widely across the site as possible. Our motto is simple: many hands make light work. But we need all hands on deck to make this successful. We invite you all to join us — consider making a donation today.
Today’s Highlighted Need
bigjacbigjacbigjac needs one final push to help his family get back to solvency
Help us raise $595
PayPal is big dot jac at live dot com
Bigjac's DKPreppers Special Edition
Every month long-time Kossacks bigjac and his wife bigton send $10 in interest payment for their credit card debt. When finances allow he throws a bit toward the principal — usually because someone in the DKOS community has sent them a bit of help. Otherwise, they just don’t have the extra funds. To be honest, they really don’t have the $10 interest payment. That is how fragile their cash flow is at the moment. The couple are so close to getting back on their feet. Or at least re-stabilizing at subsistence level. But this car-repair debt keeps hanging over their head.
How did they get here? The car, one of two that helps this resourceful melded family earn their living, broke down and needed repairs. The repairs went on the credit card. With the help of this community, they thought they had this covered. Then life intervened. Bigjac’s schedule at work went from three days to one day of work per week. It was enough to put the family into crisis. Not only did they need to use the donate car funds for essentials, they put a few more living expenses on credit.
Bigjacbigjacbigjac couldn’t be a nicer or more thoughtful guy. Some of the comments he has posted rise almost to the level of poetry. The members of his melded family couldn’t work any harder. Literally — I don’t think they could work any harder! Yet sometimes, it isn’t enough. Read their story at the above link to see just how much this couple and their brother and sister-in-law and teen-aged nephew work (the baby is apparently getting a free ride but s/he is still nursing). Even bigton, who is disabled and who needs assistance herself, babysits while the others are at work.
Things are beginning to turn around — just. Bigjac hours at work are increasing. Once this $595 car-related credit card debt is paid off, the couple will still be facing about $20,000 in medical debt and $2000 in dental insurance co-pays for badly needed dentures. Hopefully, these long-standing needs can be met when bigjac’s wife is finally granted SSI disability income. It looks hopeful but is not assured. The process could take much longer, well into 2019. Meanwhile, bigjac (who isn’t young and who has his own health issues) is hoping his hours at Walmart get back to survival level and the car doesn’t break down again.
This short-term need is exactly what the Community Needs List is all about — providing financial assist for an imminent need while helping folks move to self sufficiency. Can you help?
Today’s Musing: What $10 can buy.
I had been thinking along these lines even before our own bigjac3 contacted the fundraising team and asked for a little extra help this week. What prompted this musing? A brief report on the aftermath of Florence by a local radio station reporter from Charlotte, NC. It was just a day after the storm, when food and water had yet to be brought in by disaster relief agencies. But the intrepid reporter had manged to get to the Wilmington area to provide an on-the-scene report. He stopped a man on the flooded “street” (what was left of it) for an impromptu interview. It turned out that the man and his wife had been holed up in their apartment. They both were OK, but didn’t have anything to eat. They were hungry. Why? Because they were poor. They actually had SNAP benefits but their EBT debit card was useless. All the power was out. Merchants were only accepting cash. The desperate man wasn’t even sure why he was out on the street. He didn’t say. Maybe hoping to find a shelter that provided meals. Maybe hoping a generous person would give him a few dollars.
Folks with even a tiny bit of savings could prepare for the storm, get some cash to tide them over. If this couple had been able to access even $20 before the storm hit, it would have made a huge difference. What could a mere $10 have meant to them? I began to consider what ten dollars will actually purchase. With ten bucks this couple could buy a loaf of bread, a lb of packaged sandwich meat (more if they chose bologna) or several large cans of baked beans, a jar of peanut butter, a few apples or maybe a jar of applesauce, perhaps a couple bottles of water or iced tea.
The things one has to buy when the power is off are probably not the cheapest food options. Consider how far $10 will go if you are not contending with a disaster. Shop wisely, and $10 can purchase a lot. It could be breakfast for the bigjac3 family for an entire week: big box of oatmeal, a couple dozen eggs, a gallon of milk, teabags, perhaps even a bag of oranges. Ten dollars could mean four gallons of gas needed for bigjac to get to his job at Walmart (OK, maybe 3 gallons for most of you). Ten dollars also buys essentials like a week’s worth of diapers or cat litter for the month. Ten dollars isn’t a lot, but for some families it can mean the difference between making or not making ends meet for the month. A sobering thought.
So, what can you do with $10? Spend wisely and compassionately. ; )
Full Community Needs List
Community needs list as of 9/18/18. Please kosmail any updates, corrections or additions to njm5000.
Housing Fundraisers
JTG—Current total need for September is $1300 1180 965 835 745 425 300 including living expenses, transportation to work, and the $300 fee for the Multi-subject California Subject Examinations for Teachers” aka “CSET”. GoFundMe, PayPal (James at JamesThomasGreen dot com) Diary with other ways to help via amazon wishlist and Patreon www.dailykos.com/...
Medical Fundraisers
RICKNELSONMN — He had a partial knee replacement last year but unexpected complications require total knee replacement urgently.Needs $2,000 1,300 1270 1250 1230 to cover expenses and bills while recuperating after surgery. (GoFundMe, diaryexplaining his situation)
TULSAGAL — She had been taking care of her mom who had stage 1 dementia, until it abruptly transitioned to stage 2 dementia at which point she had to place her mom in a nursing home. During this time, she had an arthritis flare and also fell behind on bills, in addition to having several items (including her work computer, car and house) damaged or destroyed by her mom. She needs help to get current on her most urgent needs which are: mom's nursing service bills which are not covered by insurance ($985 615), utility bills ($855 655) and her own medical bills ($628.36 599.51). PayPal is mansker at coxdot net
BIGJACBIGJACBIGJAC — He was recently switched from working full-time at Walmart to part-time and has medical insurance through the ACA. A necessary but unexpected car repair tipped the scales and left him in debt. He is looking to pay off $800 715 665 645 $ 595 of debt from car repairs and unexpected household expenses. His diary DK Preppers: Special Edition has more details on his situation and what he hopes to do in the near future. GoFundMe is here; PayPal is big dot jac at live dot com. Kosmail him for other payment methods.
What Can $10 mean to someone on the List?
It means you care. A modest donation of $10 or even $5 or $3 not only helps financially, it gives our fellow Kossacks an emotional lift. I know because they tell us so. It means they feel worthwhile, they feel less hopeless, they feel they matter. They feel visible. In short, they feel that they belong to this caring community no matter what their circumstances. Our needs list has been shrinking, and we appreciate it! If it is in your means, please consider sending a small amount to someone on the list. Just pick one person and donate You will feel great and they will be so grateful. : )
Please share this diary to as many groups as you think is appropriate. There are more ways to help and other musings below the fold. Thanks!
Here are more ways to help...
It’s open all year round! Every purchase supports a Kossack, and you get to stay out of those crowded malls. Purchasing from these vendors and artisans helps folks remain self sufficient and financially independent. Plus these folks are just plain good at what they do.
SOCIAL MEDIA — Help Spread the Word
Help us get the word out! If helping financially isn’t the right option for you — or you want to do more — then be the link between need and fulfillment. If you are active on Social Media, go to the linked fund-raising pages on the Needs List and use the social media icons on the page to share it throughout your contacts on Facebook, Twitter, whatever platform you use. If you are active on DKOS, and it is appropriate for your members, republish this diary to your groups and tip, comment, rec so it stays on the sidebar as long as possible.
OUR PHILOSOPHY
What’s the philosophy behind the Community Needs List? I will let bfitzinAR, the original founder of HHday, speak for us:
Kossacks taking care of our own — helping by sharing/donating money or needed items, helping by sharing both donation site links and artisan/vendor site links and purchasing gifts for self or others via those links, helping by sharing knowledge and informational links, or helping by just sharing a hug or a cup of coffee as appropriate — is what community is all about.
We are community — clan, tribe, company, village, culture, and state. Community survives beyond the life of any single member and thrives by supporting and strengthening the life of each individual member — by helping each other, by sharing — all together.
Until such time as we get the government that we want and deserve, when there will be no need for fundraisers, there will always be some Kossacks who need the help and compassion of this kind, friendly, and generous community. Here at HHday we may highlight a particular Kossack’s story, share links to appeal diaries, share links to support services or other informational sites, spread the word, offer a shoulder to lean on.
Musical Interlude:
Today’s musical interlude is Jack and Diane, a little ditty about an American couple just doing the best they can as life goes on. I was tempted to use Hit the Road Jack, just because, but this one was more appropriate. Any and all recommendations for song selections are welcome, especially with helping related themes. Just Kosmail me your suggestions. : )
It really does take a Village, so thanks to the entire Community Links and List Team, especially njm5000 for updating the list, and of course to all our generous donors and helpers.
This is an open thread, so all topics welcome. Be kind to one another (I know you will be because that’s just the kind of folks you are), we’re all in this together. The blog is now open.