Another gift for a good person

I'm sending $100 to Val from Colorado. She sent a request recently asking for some help with a doctor's bill. I know that $100 will hardly cover a co-pay for a routine visit to the doctor these days. But my thinking is that a few extra dollars will take some of the sting out of the check up, x-ray or exam bill.

We won't get into the politics of medical care, health insurance and the like here in the United States. Suffice to say, it's not cheap to go to the hospital or specialist whether you have insurance or not. A trip to the hospital for a serious illness or procedure can result in a family going deep into debt in a few short days.

You can make a difference though. If you have a neighbor or friend who is struggling with medical bills, offer to help them out. Even if it's just a little bit, if you can afford it, do what you can to help them. If you can't really afford to pay for another person's doctor bill, consider volunteering with a hospital or medical related charity. Giving up an afternoon of your time to help others is just as good, if not better, as giving money.

Thanks for reading and listening while I climbed up on my little soapbox here. I'll be back soon with more updates. Keep those requests coming.

$50 to three great people

I've selected three nice people this week to each receive $50. In the last month, I've probably received more letters from more deserving people than I have in any previous month of this site's existence. And I'm doing everything I can to respond and give away even more free money than I have in the past. I feel it's my responsibility to do so since the interest is so great.

This does mean that it's more likely than ever that I'll respond to your request. But it doesn't mean that I can help everyone. I've received a few disappointed letters in recent days that concern me. I don't want anyone to leave this site feeling as if their request doesn't matter or that they've been ignored. At the same time, I really can only help so many folks. So angry follow up messages will do nothing to help your cause. If you didn't receive a response, it doesn't mean that I didn't read your letter. I selectively respond to as many messages as I can. But there are not enough hours in the day to write everyone a personalized letter. And I really don't want to use one of those heartless computerized auto responders thanking you for your email. That's not how I run this web site. Everything I do is personal, directly from me, and sincere.

So with those thoughts shared, let's move on to the business at hand. Mel, Rich and Shannon, who are from Ontario, Canada, Michigan and New York, each wrote me a touching, nice letter requesting some help for various reasons. I plan to send each $50 to help out with bills, groceries or whatever their request and need.

These are small gifts. But I do know that they'll be warmly received and I also know that I enjoy sharing them.

If you're interested, please send me your emailed request and I'll do my best to consider you for the next update and gift.