In our last diary, Patrick shared Janet and Cheryl's story with you. We were able to help them because of you. Your encouragement and volunteering spurred us on, and your donations have helped other KINs, as well. Today we want to share with you a story of one other KIN you've helped.
99 Percent Pure contacted us in November, and has the following to share about her experience:
In this 21st century world, it is very easy to be get discouraged, particularly when we look at all that's happening these days - joblessness and homelessness increasing by leaps and bounds, families who've lost their homes and have moved in with relatives (I talked to a friend yesterday who said that both her sons, their wives and children, as well as her husband's sister who is recovering from cancer, are now living with her after losing their jobs, their homes and suffering catastrophic near-death illness - that's 9 people). But just when you want to give up - I'd even emailed Black Leather Rain that I had given up - I was rescued by people who have never met me, don't know very much about me other than my DKos profile, and only cared about alleviating the acute stress that I was experiencing.
Out of the goodness of their hearts, to keep a roof over my head, Black Leather Rain and Patrick pretty much overturned PayPal heaven and earth to fund me.
You can read all of her story on our ChipIn site. Major props to her kind representative, Assemblymember John Perez, and his excellent aide, Rick Ryan. Their action on her behalf in dealing with her unreasonable landlord bought us the time to help her out.
We were able to help her - but the job is not done. There are other stories that also require our attention, and with which we need your help (beyond your money). We need your time, your best wishes, and your knowledge.
In our last update, the ChipIn widget was broken. That's because the PATRIOT act requires financial institutions like PayPal to report suspicious activity, and they found our mass of random donations very suspicious. At the time of this posting, we can accept and send donations, but PayPal requires that we tell you the following, so listen up!
Donations to KINship are not deductible for Federal Income Tax purposes.
We are considering gaining 501(c)(3) status, at which point your donations would be tax-deductible. This will take much planning and discussion, and we will keep you up to date on that. Until that happens, you'll just have to be really proud of the change you're helping make in the lives of your fellow Kossacks.
We started this project to help people have happy Thankgivings and Christmases. We're very much still focused on Christmas - the goal is to match donors and requestors this weekend, so watch your emails. We're also looking at January and February and trying to predict what challenges Kossacks will face.
Many of you will be affected by the failed bailout (and please note your elected reps may be able to help you with this better than we), many of you have already lost your jobs. Many of you may lose your homes, many of you are having difficulties making ends meet. Beyond money, many of you are in need of specialists and professionals in your area. We want to be a vehicle to help you all-around, but we need to know the needs of the community before we investigate ways we can help.
In addition, we want to know - what do you think we should be focusing on? Medical bills, unless they're minor, are generally beyond our reach; if you're having trouble with them, a local or national agency is probably better-equipped to handle that (though you should by all means still contact us; there's more help to be had than merely with checks).
The more we know about the problems we're having, the better idea we'll have of the little ills silently plaguing our country while we focus on the big things. And yes, the big things are important, but back in the day, the kind of paint you used in a house was a little thing. Now lead poisoning is a big issue. So in a comment to this diary or in an e-mail to kinshipplanning@gmail.com, tell us what you think we should focus on next.
And by all means, donate!
Want in? Want to volunteer? We can't give you a free T-shirt or anything for joining, but we do promise daily nudity (except not), a flurry of daily e-mails (sometimes), and endless enthusiasm toward securing and advancing the greater good.
If you wish to volunteer, if you wish to donate, if you can provide local services, want to send gifts to a family in need in December, or can provide a seat at the table for holiday gatherings, visit our Donor Page here.
If you are in need or have a request, visit our Request Page here.
As always, thank you for your attention, your support, your suggestions, and your donations.
Please note: this diary will be reposted early Sunday for maximum visibility, but we are posting tonight to allow the maximum number of requestor eyes to see the diary.