Help
In the last few days, if this fandom has proven anything, it's the power of social networking right here on LJ, and the loyalty that we all have to one another.
I am, quite selfishly and shamelessly, wanting to milk that for all it's worth.
I know we're all very busy, and sometimes the temptation to skim through long posts rather than read them is very high.
If you ever meant to read a post of mine, I beg you, read this one. You can skim everything else I post for the rest of my life.
My cousin Morgan is very, very ill. According to all the news from her doctors, she will die. It's just a matter of time. After seven years of battling cancer throughout her body and all of the related complications, she has a bacterial infection in her heart, her organs are dying, and her kidneys are failing at a rapid rate. She has two tumors in her brain that have wrapped around vital nerves. That, coupled with the potency of her daily four-hour drug treatments, is slowly making her lose her mind. Literally.
This woman is turning 30 years old this month and has been through more in the last 7 years than most of us will ever see in our lifetime. Her spirit is amazing, her strength an inspiration, but the devastation this disease has caused in her life is very real. She is utterly and completely broke. Her debt is severe. She has almost lost her house, has had utilities shut off many times, and is in danger of losing custody of one of her children on top of it all. She has a 7-year-old and a 10-month old, who was born prematurely. The heartache for this woman just never ends.
The details of what she has gone through with her disease, her jobs, her insurance (and lack thereof) and her evil ex-husband could fill volumes. I wouldn't believe most of it myself if I didn't know it all to be true. It's simply unfathomable that one person should have to endure so much.
We, her family and friends, have had enough. We are taking action. There is only one thing we can think of to do, and that is to raise money. To raise as much money as we possibly can to help offset some of the financial burden her illness has left her with and to help plan for the future of her children once she's gone.
This fandom has pulled together to do things like buy people laptops. I know you can find it in your heart to help a dying woman. Please. I know people aren't supposed to ask others so blatantly for money, but I am not above begging.
However, what I really need help with, first, is the knowledge of how to collect money online. I don't know anything about doing this. We are hosting a benefit on September 29, and want to give people a way to make their donations online. I know there's got to be a way that I can collect money through Paypal - I know some of you have done it, I just don't know how. Can anyone help me?
Also, if anyone has any experience with planning silent auctions, raffles, or any other type of benefit, I would love to talk to you. The main plan is a spaghetti dinner, which is already planned, but we want to do a silent auction and/or raffle in conjunction with it. Anyone have any really fantastic tips for how to get prizes donated?
For any help that anyone can provide - it will mean more than you know. Thank you, thank you, thank you.
I am, quite selfishly and shamelessly, wanting to milk that for all it's worth.
I know we're all very busy, and sometimes the temptation to skim through long posts rather than read them is very high.
If you ever meant to read a post of mine, I beg you, read this one. You can skim everything else I post for the rest of my life.
My cousin Morgan is very, very ill. According to all the news from her doctors, she will die. It's just a matter of time. After seven years of battling cancer throughout her body and all of the related complications, she has a bacterial infection in her heart, her organs are dying, and her kidneys are failing at a rapid rate. She has two tumors in her brain that have wrapped around vital nerves. That, coupled with the potency of her daily four-hour drug treatments, is slowly making her lose her mind. Literally.
This woman is turning 30 years old this month and has been through more in the last 7 years than most of us will ever see in our lifetime. Her spirit is amazing, her strength an inspiration, but the devastation this disease has caused in her life is very real. She is utterly and completely broke. Her debt is severe. She has almost lost her house, has had utilities shut off many times, and is in danger of losing custody of one of her children on top of it all. She has a 7-year-old and a 10-month old, who was born prematurely. The heartache for this woman just never ends.
The details of what she has gone through with her disease, her jobs, her insurance (and lack thereof) and her evil ex-husband could fill volumes. I wouldn't believe most of it myself if I didn't know it all to be true. It's simply unfathomable that one person should have to endure so much.
We, her family and friends, have had enough. We are taking action. There is only one thing we can think of to do, and that is to raise money. To raise as much money as we possibly can to help offset some of the financial burden her illness has left her with and to help plan for the future of her children once she's gone.
This fandom has pulled together to do things like buy people laptops. I know you can find it in your heart to help a dying woman. Please. I know people aren't supposed to ask others so blatantly for money, but I am not above begging.
However, what I really need help with, first, is the knowledge of how to collect money online. I don't know anything about doing this. We are hosting a benefit on September 29, and want to give people a way to make their donations online. I know there's got to be a way that I can collect money through Paypal - I know some of you have done it, I just don't know how. Can anyone help me?
Also, if anyone has any experience with planning silent auctions, raffles, or any other type of benefit, I would love to talk to you. The main plan is a spaghetti dinner, which is already planned, but we want to do a silent auction and/or raffle in conjunction with it. Anyone have any really fantastic tips for how to get prizes donated?
For any help that anyone can provide - it will mean more than you know. Thank you, thank you, thank you.