Modest Needs

I know everyone has their own charities, and I'm not going to hit you up to donate to mine, but if you happen to be looking for a place for year-end giving, I suggest you check out modestneeds.org.

This is a site, similar to Donors Choose, where you can pick a case to help. At Modest Neeeds, these are people on the brink of homelessness or poverty. These are mostly working people who can support themselves, but one bill, one illness, cut back in hours have thrown them for a loop. These people just need temporary help to get over a hump.

In the past I picked people who needed dental work. I figured I bitch enough about that and I have money to pay for it -- how much worse it would be to be in pain and not have the money to fix it.

So this time around, I picked a chef who broke her leg, had to have surgery, had no medical insurance, and the medical bills wiped out her savings. She couldn't work, had no money coming in, she has sold her TV and other belongings in order to pay the rent and other bills. She applied to Modest Needs to catch up on her car payments. You can see without her car, she couldn't get back to work, look for work, and it would be a downward spiral. Now the car payments are made, and she is recovering and can get back to work.

Modest Needs checks out all the stories so you know there are no scam artists. You can just donate a few dollars and add it to the person's fund whom you want to help. Just now received a thank you note, and here's what she said:

How do you properly thank so many wonderful people who have done such a nice thing for you, I honestly don't think words are enough. But as words are all I have right now I would like to try to express the extreme gratitude that I feel and thank all of you angels who have helped me through this very trying time. It has been such a hard road going through this injury and the healing process has been so painful and overwhelming that at times I have felt like I was not going to make it through.

Being an independent self-reliant woman, it has been difficult for me to ask and allow people to help me. I have had to reach deep down and let God find strength in me I did not know existed to do this. I never expected strangers to be so kind, and to get help from you has given me the strength to heal and get better. You all have inspired me so much and given me faith in a world that can at times seem like everyone is only out for themselves. So, from the bottom of my heart, thank you all so very much and thanks to Modest Needs for creating such a wonderful outlet to help people in their time of need. I wish everyone a very Merry Christmas and hope your holidays are bright and full of love.