Helping those who help themselves.

"As you grow older, you will discover that you have two hands, one for helping yourself, the other for helping others."
Audrey Hepburn

Many of us are fighting demons, struggling against the tide, and surviving by throwing bones to the wolves that are chewing at our door. We know what it's like to have to say no to the latest new toy our kids want, the night out with our friends, and that vacation we had hoped to take. But some know what it's like to go hungry so their children don't. They struggle everyday to figure out how to make a paycheck cover even one bill and leave enough to have gas to get to work. They try to figure out how to get the medications that the medically fragile family members need when there is just no money for them.

People look at the working poor and see only what they want to. They may see someone with the internet and see it as an extra unnecessary expense but not see the few dollars that are made from it that the family uses to get milk that week. They may see that one parent doesn't have a job and feel that if the family really needed money then everyone would be working. It doesn't dawn on them that the mom may home-school, there may be only one car, that there is simply no one to deal with the needs of the family other then the stay at home parent, or that there may be medical reasons for not working.

"Ebenezer: But have they no refuge, no resource?
Spirit of Christmas Present: [quoting Scrooge] Are there no prisons? Are there no workhouses?"

Resources and programs set up to help, are running dry because of an economy that isn't as pretty as the press likes to paint. It may look good from the top but from the bottom it still looks like a pit of snake filled quick sand during a hurricane. There isn't as much out there to help these folks as it looks like or is talked about. The governments at both state and federal level have made cuts to their programs and that trickles down to the programs in neighborhoods because they get funding from that top level. The people who would have once donated to these types of programs have found themselves struggling so they no longer have the extra to give. The bottom line is that more people are trying to make do with and get help from less.

Not all poor are there because they are lazy, drug addicted, wastes of air that have babies just to stay on the welfare rolls. Many are just families trying to do the best they can. They started out fine and the car broke down, the job left town, or someone got sick. It's a lot harder to get back up then it is to fall down. Savings run out, bills pile up, and life just gets deeper and harder.

My Request: Help as simple as a click of a button and a few keystrokes for a family that is dear to me. If there is enough to spare, you could also help my family by clicking the donate button at the top of my blog.

Meet an everyday, working poor family: Dad drives an hour to work. He is driving the only working vehicle since the transmission went out on his car 3 months ago. There is a beautiful little girl who has a spunky way about her, that is very disappointed that she can't keep her kindergartener pictures because of cost. The boy of the house is special, unique, and a hand full that makes his mother smile often. The loving, hardworking, sweetheart of a Mom stays at home, takes care of children, and runs several blogs to help earn some get through cash all despite her medical issues that do not allow for outside the home work.

Often it is little things that knock them down. The car broke down and costs too much to fix. The internet bill had to be set aside so the money mom makes wasn't available so this other bill had to be set aside. It doesn't take a lot. Soon those wolves will be again attacking the family. They are days away from having their utilities shut off which will further add to their struggles in an avalanche of cause and effect that didn't come from their own doing. 

Meet another every day poor family: Mom works on-line making pennies from pay per view sites because it can be done around the 6 therapies and extra doctor appointments her family has every week. She has medical issues that go untreated due to lack of medical.

Dad worked steadily for over 27 years. 17 of those years was for one company. He got sick, had surgery, spent 12 weeks recovering, worked for 4 months and then was laid off. It was two years  before another job came along through the help of a local reporter, some kind folks, and the fact that he passed the physical and drug test. Just over 60 days into the new job, he was sent back to the hospital. In a 30 day period he spent 16 days there. He is not cleared to return to work and it doesn't look like he will be any time soon. And there is no medical.

There are three children in the home. They are all home-schooled because the local school district is in a state of devastation. One is a bright young lady of 11 years who enjoys reading, writing stories, and acting as therapist to her siblings. Both of the younger two have genetic changes that lead them to a diagnosis of Autism. The youngest has multiple medical issues, including some that can be life shortening or threatening. State and Federal medical have seen cuts and extreme requirements for services. It is a year wait for a medically necessary wheel chair.

These families are trying to make ends meet on their own. They have tried several avenues that life insists on roadblocking. They don't want a hand out but a hand up. Neither family drives a fancy car, has a big screen television, or pays to have their hair and nails done. Here is another writer's take on the story of these families. 

Here are some links to follow and ways to help: 

If you have a business or know of one that needs some add space there are at least two blogs that can help: Zilla Of the Resistance is a political blog that gets lots of regular views and is often linked to other popular blogs. Another, lesser known blog, Stone Soup is a family friendly blog written by several creative and wonderful women. You can place your order for adds here. 75% of that goes to the first family who is donating the other 25% to the second family. See? Even those in need know that we are all in this together.

If you click the Donate button at the top of this blog on the right and write in "Zilla" or this Donate  (family #1) button and write in "Chimes too" then the donation will be split between the two families. Or just click one of them to donate to just one family.

So you don't have a lot of extra to share but you are pretty smart and know a legitimate way to earn at least a part time income from home around a busy family? That is what these moms could use almost as much as cash. Please email any leads or opportunities you may know of to tlchimes@hotmail.com and both families will be given the information. Please remember that there isn't start up cash, not does either woman want to do a pyramid scam or the like.

Thank you for reading, for sharing it with others who may help, and for reading the blogs listed in my blog roll as well as this one. And please feel free to visit my other articles and stories. I thank you for all of your support. Don't forget to subscribe!

Jacob Marley: BUSINESS? Mankind was my business!

Their common welfare was my business! 

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God bless us, every one! (Tiny Tim)