In hopes it will catch the eye of a few folks who might be able to help. I'm writing this diary and making A CHALLENGE!
As our own Navajo and Aji (among others) have written in the past few weeks, there's are many people in peril of literally freezing to death this winter because they cannot afford to purchase fuel for their homes. Here's just one story by Aji that discusses all the way we can help: This year, it's about saving lives
There are always more projects and needs than we can all address individually, but one by one, we can help at least one person, one family, survive the brutal winters with donations to the energy companies that provide fuel for the Rosebud and Pine Ridge reservations.
I'm putting this diary right now to let people know that the awesome "Mr Heater Big Buddy" propane space heater is on sale right now, reduced from $129.00 to just $99.00. This is a '3 day sale', and I'm not sure how many days are left in the sale. So jump over there asap! That reduction in price almost covers the cost of the accessories that are needed to use the heater!
You can order a heater HERE and have it shipped to:
Sherry Cornelius
St. Francis Energy Co.
102 N Main Street
SAINT FRANCIS, SD 57572
Mr. Heater Big Buddy™ Indoor/Outdoor Propane Heater — 18,000 BTU, Model# MH18B
You also need to include these accessories:
Mr. Heater AC Power Adapter for Big Buddy Heaters — 6 Volt, Model# F276127
Mr. Heater 12-Ft. Hose with Regulator for Item# 173635
Mr. Heater Fuel Filter for Buddy™ Heaters, Model# F273699
Maybe you've got a friend who really does have everything, maybe your family all chip in to give a gift to a charity in your family's name, maybe you and an old friend have resorted to giving each other gag gifts because you've both been too busy to do any serious shopping, maybe you just remember what it was like when you were broke-ass poor and how cold your dwelling was every winter. Maybe you just wanna do a little good for someone this winter. Well, here's a way to do a good deed and give something totally unexpected to that person in your life who says, like I do, "no, really, I got just about everything I need, go do some good for me, will ya?".
These heaters not only provide a better machine to use energy efficiently, but they are equipped with many safety features lacking in older propane space heaters, an extra boon for people who may not know that their heater is on the edge of malfunctioning in such as way as to be life-threatening.
If you can't get a heater, please consider donating to the account at St Francis that pools smaller donations to buy an order of propane. In this way, our donations of $5, $10, $20 add up quickly to the $150 needed to fill a propane tank, and it always makes me proud when I see people coming together to make their donations so powerful and productive.
Telephone:
Sherry Cornelius of St. Francis Energy Co.
at 6 0 5 - 7 4 7 - 2 5 4 2
11 AM - 6 PM MST EVERY DAY
Ask for Sherry or her mom Patsy. Normally a minimum order is $150, but they have an account to accumulate small donations to a minimum order. Credit Cards welcome and they are the only Native owned fuel company on Rosebud. Rosebud is next to Pine Ridge Reservation and in the same economically depressed condition.
If you'd like to mail a check:
[make check payable to: St. Francis Energy Co.]
Attn: Sherry or Patsy
St. Francis Energy Co. / Valandra's II
P.O. Box 140
St. Francis, South Dakota 57572
NOT tax deductible
http://sfec.yolasite.com/
So if you can help, if you're able to give a gift to someone that will have a good and meaningful impact on their lives for years to come, please follow the links and order one today.
I also direct you to navajo's diary which mentions Okiciyap, which runs a food pantry for the people of the Cheyenne River area, in hopes you can spread the word about their needs, and urge you to send them a few dollars to help keep some food on the table for people who need so much help just obtaining the basics needed to live a healthy life. Helping the Lakota People
And Now, MY CHALLENGE!!!
To help keep this diary up for people to notice, I'll donate $120 to our friends at St Francis Energy for every 120 recs I get on this diary in the next 24 hours.
If people take advantage of the heater sale, and send me via kosmail a copy of their receipt, I'll buy another heater for every six heaters that are purchased and sent to St Francis Energy in the next 24 hours.
For every $500 donated to Okiciyap in the next 24 hours, I'll donate another $100. I've got a marker on how much is in their 'ChipIn' account right now, and will check it at 11am mst Wednesday to see what folks have donated and do a followup diary if needed. Given how infrequently I post, doing 2 dairies in the same month will be a tremendous effort, but I'll do it for the sake of the cause ;-)
Yeah, that's right, I'm putting up a challenge, and the way I see we all win if you folks rec this diary and make me donate more propane and heaters and food to the Lakota people.
With hope and thanks, to everyone who recs and helps,
NMRed
Wed Dec 14, 2011 at 6:52 AM PT: I awoke to messages from two people who have purchased heaters while I was sleeping! That makes 4 heaters donated since I wrote this diary yesterday morning. I'm so thankful to you all. Gotta go to the doctor's now for some old-person tests that mean I can't eat or drink until they're over, so I'll be back in a few hours and will write some more. I may even reprise this diary for another 24 hours and see if we can get two more heaters to meet my challenge and a couple hundred more recs so I'm sending Sherry out with more propane donated by myself and others this week.
I hear those bells ringing with ever rec and comment, and the angels are singing with joy for the kindness of so many.