(Folks, we need some recs to get this diary up on the Big Board. llbear and Leo need our help. Thanks!)
Greetings, Kossacks!
This is a quick update regarding the diary llbear wrote last night. I've had the privilege of speaking to llbear twice today, and if you've never had the opportunity to speak to llbear offline, all I can say is that you're missing out - he's a wonderful man with a great heart and a good head on his shoulders.
Note: For those who haven't heard, llbear's father is not doing as well as we'd hoped, so llbear will be generally offline for a day or two as he tends to his father's medical needs. Please send your positive vibes to his family and keep them in your thoughts.
I also had the honor of speaking to our veteran in need - I'm going to call him "Leo" in this diary - and I think I can say that he's a good man who's only looking for a helping hand to get his family through a tough time while he waits for some well-deserved benefits to kick in.
Follow me to the conversation pit for more info, if you will.
I'll preface this portion of the diary with a short, but important, statement on The KINship Project's role in this situation: For the moment, we're acting only as a facilitator and financial coordinator to help Leo. We're not seeking contributions to TKP, itself, nor are we planning (at the moment) to provide any contributions. (This is based on my conversation with llbear, who reminded me that TKP was originally set up to help Kossacks in need.) I've e-mailed the other principals and if they, with support from the dKos community, decide that this is a worthy cause, we may provide some funds from the general TKP account. Nothing's settled yet, so please don't misinterpret our involvement, either way. Right now, we're merely acting as facilitators, at llbear's request.
After talking to Leo and llbear, I think I have a fair idea of what Leo's family is going to need, at least in the short term. I'll give you a short rundown, with some caveats to follow.
Towels, linens, bedding, etc.
Groceries, after the move to the new residence
Furniture - couch, table & chairs, decent bed
Clothes - esp. for their toddler son
Kitchenware - silverware, dishes, pots and pans, servingware
It doesn't seem like much as far as "stuff" goes and, frankly, this was about all I could coax out of Leo. He's nearly overwhelmed by the offers of support from complete strangers, and it took a while for him to relax enough to give me details.
Caveat: We've received many offers to provide clothing, furniture, nearly everything to help this family out, and we can't begin to express our gratitude for your generosity. However, after talking to llbear and Leo, we'd like to ask you to hold back just a bit. One, we don't want people dropping off physical items that will have to be moved again in two weeks. Two, we'd rather not have a hundred people knocking on Leo's door while his family's in a stressful situation. We hope you'll understand and we'll do our best to coordinate your generosity with the family's schedule.
The family has a few other needs that don't involve "stuff", if you will:
Moving - we need some helping hands and a couple trucks. There's not a lot to move but a few helping souls and vehicles will go a long way toward reducing the family's stress. llbear, or I, will coordinate with you local folks to make this easy breezy, if we can. Stay tuned. Thanks to those who have already offered - I'll check with llbear to find the best way to handle this part of the operation.
Cash - This is always the hard part to bring up. Leo's expecting some increased financial support, via veterans' benefits, but this may be 2 to 3 months down the road. As you know, they'd like to move to a residence that's closer to school so Leo's not spending half his day commuting. Honestly, we don't know what the specific financial need is just yet - it depends on the residence the family is able to secure, but we're looking at rent plus a month or two deposit, at the least.
We know that Leo's family is living on a very limited income, right now. llbear and I are very hesitant to put out a general call for contributions, but we'd also like to acknowledge the generosity that so many of you have displayed. After talking to llbear, I think we've come up with a plan that will assist the family, accept your generosity, and keep things on the up and up. One point that llbear raised was, "We want to give people what they need, not necessarily what they desire." Our only goal is to help the family move through a tough time and into a more stable environment. Leo said, "I don't want anyone to send money if it's going to make them hurt until their next paycheck."
Again, let me emphasize that this is not a general fundraiser for The KINship Project. I've set up a new account specifically for contributions for this particular situation. There are no funds from the general KINship account being transferred into this account - the funds from those of you who have contributed to TKP previously are not being used in this endeavor. (This may change, depending on the principals' and dKos community's support.)
I've sent my personal info to llbear, so he has my name, address and both phone numbers. llbear has given me Leo's personal info, and I've given Leo my phone number in case he has additional information to share. My plan, at the moment, is to send Leo a money order in the next 5-7 days, so the family has some money in hand when it comes time to sign a lease on a new residence. Again, we don't have a specific dollar amount yet.
If you'd like to make a contribution to help Leo and his family, and it's not going to put you into a financial situation of your own, here's the PayPal information:
Make a PayPal contribution
Please note "Dallas Vet" if you make a contribution. If you have any questions at all, please feel free to contact me at scott @ kinship-project.org.. llbear may not be around to answer questions, so please take it easy on his inbox for the next couple days. (Feel free to verify, though.)
A final thought: My Dad was a Navy man, served in WWII in the South Pacific. You've never seen a man so happy as when the kids secured him a lifetime membership in the VFW. He carried the United States flag in the Memorial Day parade for many years - still fit into those dress blues, head held high, and nothing but pride as he walked those few short blocks down our little village's main street.
I'm a veteran of the US Army Reserves (63 Sierra). I was fortunate, I think, that I never saw combat - but I like to think that I would have been a good "buddy", if I had. Maybe this is my chance.
[llbear was going to post a follow up diary tonight but he may be dealing with his father's health issues, so I'm posting this in advance of his diary. I'll be around for a while to answer any questions I can.]
Scott