I've been without heat. It's ugly. This person comes vouched for by a real person whom I have met in the flesh.
The situation is pretty bad and the begging really is a last resort.
I don't have spare funds, myself but I can at least pay it forward by posting it for people to see. (I did donate a few bucks but it feels useless.) You can use this widget but most of you will probably feel better after reading the story at the link above.
And for those of you who have already seen this enough, sorry. I just had to. Being without heat, even in the northwet where it rarely goes below freezing, HURTS. It's physically painful. I ache just thinking about what I went through in November before finding some money for heating oil.