A few weeks ago, over on my site Wetmachine, I wrote about a hero of mine, "E", a young woman who, at the age of 17 and at great risk to herself, put in jail the man who began molesting her when she was seven years old and raped her when she was nine, and continued molesting her until she was about 13. She's 21 now, a senior in college, and an advocate for the prevention of sexual abuse, especially abuse of children, and a counselor of victims.
If you'll take the time to read her story, I'm certain you'll agree she's a true hero.
She could use your help.
I'm writing an appeal on her behalf, without her knowledge (yet--I'm sure she'll find out), because her tuition is in arrears, her parents are poor, and her unemployed father has been unable to borrow the funds necessary to see her through her final year. As of today she's blocked from registering for the classes in her final, spring, semester.
That unemployed father is me. I just found out today that my applications for additional funds have been denied. My daughter is pretty distraught.
[I haven't cross-posted the Wetmachine post here because there are photos & uploading them to a picture-hosting site is a bother. I suppose I could do that if it would be helpful, but I would prefer that you just checked out the story on Wetmachine so that I can concentrate on dialing for dollars. ]
Since I'm appealing for $$, I expect a healthy skepticism as to the facts of the case. Depending on the response I get to this post, I can arrange for the prosecuting assistant district attorney and the head of financial services at my daughter's college to provide corroboration.
As to how you can help, I'm tempted to ask you to just paypal me money on my site. You're welcome to do that, but I understand that that might look fishy, so, again depending on your comments (if any), I'll look into setting up a fund at the local bank or at the college. How much money are we short? A lot. Depending on your responses, I'll provide more details.
I don't participate very much on this site, but I've been a member here for years, and my site Wetmachine has actually been pretty influential in advancing progressive causes, especially in the areas net neutrality, first amendment rights, and media policy. It's read by FCC commissioners & their staffs, and by congressional staff as well. So I consider myself a part of this larger community to whom I now come for help.
My own story is a little complicated and not the subject of this post. But again, I think you're entitled to know something about who I am. I'm a writer; laid off from a long-time job at a software company in 2007 and only intermittently employed since. I do have a project in the works for which I'm also looking for backers. If you click on the link below, you can see a short video of me explaining what I'm working on. I hesitate to post this lest it seem like I'm trading on my daughter's misfortune, but on the other hand if you help me you help her, and I think I think I'm offering something of value. Click here for details.
My email address is listed in my profile.