The Pirates Mutual Aid Society

[LongTom]

You may remember this thread from a few weeks ago, that one of our members has suffered a severe illness. It also has kept her from being eligible thus far for insurance coverage, so she has incurred a medical bill that is as financially devastating as the illness is physically debilitating.

Since that happened, I've been thinking about what we can do as a community to step in when our institutions fail us. I for one would like to do something about it. A huge debt is insurmountable for one person, but it is manageable when shared by many hands. I know that there are many folks here on the Pub with hearts of gold, as we all saw when the Royaliste suffered a misfortune earlier this year. With that in mind, I'd like to propose...

The Pirates Mutual Aid Society!

Donations don't have to be big. The point is that a little bit from a lot of people adds up. Even five dollars means something, when you add it to all the other five dollars from all the other givers.

For bigger contributions, when you think of it in terms of cost per day over a year, you won't even miss it. A hundred dollars sounds like a lot, but would you even think twice about pitching a quarter to a friend of yours once a day, if it meant that at the end of the year she'd be free and clear of a huge debt? Wouldn't it be nice to be able to say that your Starbucks allowance went somewhere more noble than your waistline?

Also, remember that we are friends here. What kind of friend would stand by during a disaster and not offer up what aid he had to hand?

What say ye all?

[LongTom]

There are logistics to consider. I have never done anything like this before, and I don't know what bumps we might run into. Here are a few things that occur to me:

-- Privacy: People probably don't want their personal info flying around the net.

-- Coordination: I'm thinking that a single big contribution is less likely to dissipate into the general fund of the recipient than a bunch of little ones that arrive sporadically. PayPal would simplify matters greatly, but in the case where for whatever reason it isn't feasible? Do we have someone collect so we can send a lump sum? (Yes, consider this an offer of that service.)

-- Trust: However, if one person is doing the collecting how do you, the donor, feel comfortable that nothing gets skimmed? I happen to know that I'm trustworthy, but you have no reason to believe that. Maybe a system where pledges are published and receipts acknowledged? Then everything should add up, come presentation time?

Any suggestions?

[LongTom]

Lacking a better model, here is what I propose for now:

1) Either post the amount of your pledge here in this thread, or PM me with it if you prefer to remain anonymous for whatever reason. I will respond with a PM of my snail-mail address so you can mail your contribution to me to collect. I will also PM you when it arrives.

2) After a reasonable interval, (say one month), I will tally the total and send it to Black Syren to apply it to her hospital bill.

Sounds reasonable?

[Red-Handed Jill]

There are all sorts of ways to donate money. Some of the reinactment groups here have held fundraisers for one cause or another. We could do the same. Also, there are several talented pirates here who might be amenable to selling some of their wares on, say, eBay to donate to the cause.

[LongTom]

Okay, let's get the ball rolling.

LongTom pledges:

++ 100 dollars to Black Syren's medical fund, as a straight contribution.

++ 100 additional dollars as 1:1 matching funds for the next contributors. (i.e., ya got 5 dollars to donate, I'll turn it into 10.)

[Lily Alexander]

Tom, what a noble and worthy effort.

A very dear friend of mine from high school suffered from such an illness. There was nothing I could do for her then but there is something I can do now.

The directed blood drive you mentioned in the original post is a wonderful idea.

Perhaps a donation box could be set up at PIP as well to help with medical costs. With such a large amount of pyrates and patrons attending the festival, I'm sure even spare change will add up quickly.

Syren, I'm truely sorry to hear of your health issues. My thoughts and prayers are with you.

Most Sinerely,

Lily

[Capt. Bo of the WTF co.]

I wish things were such that I could do something, but we have no change to spare, and I spent time overseas in a place where things are such that I can no longer give blood (they won't take it). Best I can do for now is keep her in my close thoughts.

Bo

[LongTom]

Bless you, Lily, and thank you for stepping up to the challenge! As I mentioned above, I will match the amount of your donation. Pooling our resources is how we make them big enough to make a difference.

Thank you for your well wishes, Bo. I understand where you are at; I've been there. Best of luck with your studies, and may you find prosperity in the very near future.

By the way, something just occurred to me regarding the issue of trustworthiness. Everyone who pledges any amount will get my home address, in order to mail it to me for collection. Were I to abscond with one red cent, you all know where I live. You can even see my roof on Google maps. Very bad idea to cross a bunch of pirates, I'd say...

[Black Syren]

Thanks Tom for trying to help it is greatly appreciate it as does my family. We are at our wits end and since it is considered life threatning I cannot get on insurance unless hopefully my husbands when open enrollment comes in October. We cannot apply for loans because already my medical bills are well over a hundred grand..The majority of that was from our accident..But that is why we cannot get a loan.

The goverment will not aid us as they claim we make too much money. I have applied to charities and gone through every avenue I can find all to no avail..But im still looking.

Lily..I was not going to post here, I feel really silly asking for help, if it's for others it's one thing..for me another. But I appreciate any and all that help wether it's with information, prayers or whatever.

Bo..Your such a great person..I truly appreciate the thought..and your prayers are well met...Again it means much to me, to my family especially my wee one.

Sincerely,

The Black Syren

[LongTom]

Wow. Syren, I'm staggered. A hundred thou... Whoa.

I'm really sorry that you feel embarassed. Also, I'm perplexed and angry at a society that could drop you into such a predicament and then leave you embarassed about being there. This is not your fault.

I live in earthquake country. If we had The Big One, and your house fell down and mine didn't, I would take you and your family in, in a heartbeat. It's not only the right thing to do, it's the obvious thing to do, and I would hope that neither of us would think twice about it. I dearly wish I could write a check for the whole amount right now. I can't do that by myself. Looks like we are going to need a lot more pirates!

A burden shared is a burden halved; a blessing shared is a blessing doubled. It makes me happy to share my blessings with you.

[Rumba Rue]

I wish I could help, but like Bo, I'm on an eight hundred dollar a month income to live on...I can't spare anything, but your idea is a very noble effort.

[Lily Alexander]

Bump

[LongTom]

I've gotten some good advice in the last hour or so. Red-Handed Jill astutely points out that the nature of the problem changed with the magnitude of the debt. This isn't going to be the sort of thing that can be dashed off in a month of ad-hoc passing the hat.

(Though I'm under the impression there may be a serious cash flow crunch right around the time of the surgery. That may be the time for a quick donation drive, to cover immediate living expenses. )

We'll get this figured out eventually.

[Capt. Bo of the WTF co.]

OK, I have been absolutely perplexed by what to do. I have the kids doing a little something to help with cheer, but having been on both sides of the finacial fence, and rapidly changed at that, I know that just getting groceries can be stressful.

That said, I pledge my sword to my shipmate.

If Tom is willing to keep track of the bids and send the blade to it's new owner, I wish to have this fine blade placed on the auction block to help Syren's family through a little bit. Anyone who takes the Smoke-n-Fire news has seen the advertisement for the vendor of theses blades. This is not a cheap reprodution, but a fully functional 1730 Scottish smallsword. I have about $250 in it and made the carrier to suit m'self. Anyhow, I was going to trade it away for something else, but would rather see it go this way. Tom?

Bo

[LongTom]

Bo, that is a princely gesture, worthy of the gallant Captain. I am humbled before you.

Yes, I will take that on, as you wish.

However, that brings up another point. Figures like Bo quotes are getting big enough that structuring donations as a charitable contribution for tax purposes would be helpful. No reason not to extract as much "silver lining" out of these clouds as possible, and if Uncle Sam is ready to assist, he's welcome to join in, too. Does anyone have any information on whether it's possible to set up such a beast for this sort of situation?

[Lily Alexander]

Every year people try to give us money at our haunt. We don't ask for it, accept it nor do we have any kind of donation box set up. I'm thinking of including one this year and donating the money to help Syren. What do you think?

That sword is gorgeous. I would love to bid on it as a Christmas gift for my hubby.

Sorry Tom, I have no idea how to set something like that up.

[Iron Bess]

Perhaps a Trust Fund that is overseen by a Bank or..??

It would also give you an address for contributions and donations. It could also be listed on any eBay auctions to lend it's authenticity as well.

Lemme see what some Disney Lawyers might have to say...

[Capt. Bo of the WTF co.]

Tom, I have your adress and will be shipping to you by weeks end. Thanx for handling the logistics on this, I know it will not be an easy task. If not for the class load I would not impose.

Lily... I love your signature! I will have roast venison and rum in place of chocolate and champaigne though.

Bo

[Iron Bess]

(Bump)

[Capt. Bo of the WTF co.]

Sword will ship tomorrow morning Tom, I will PM you with the tracking info and such.

Bo

[Capt. Bo of the WTF co.]

A slight delay in shipping... the P.O. made me re-package the sword before they would insure it.

On the way!!!

Bo

[Rogue Mermaid]

This may be a poorly thought out idea... but I thought I'd throw it out there.

How about a cafe press store with the commisions all going to Siren? If she set up the store (it's really easy) all the proceeds would get mailed directly to her. We could just e-mail her designs to post in her store.

There are so many artists in the pub, I'm sure I'm not the only one who would be willing to design a shirt/merchandise layout - not to mention buy some of my fellow pirate's work for such a fantastic cause!

Siren would you be interested in doing this? The store would be free for you to set up. I'm not sure how actually profitable it is though. I know some people do well.

[Iron Bess]

Rumba runs a Cafe Press store....

Ask her for input on this idea.

Any ANY Idea that is a means to the end to help out is not poorly thought out lass... kuddos to you

[captjacksparrowsavvvy]

I have done several fundraisers in the last few years and I can give you some advice/suggestions/ideas...

First of all, if you are going to auction off anything, check out MISSIONFISH which is the charity off shoot of Ebay. Missionfish doesn't require a fee and as far as I understood, Missionfish would foward the money to an account, and send the donor a reciept.

I am going to set up an auction on Missionfish for Marty Klebba's Coda, and all the money would go directly to CoDA. I am waiting on Johnny at the moment(days,weeks,months lol) so I can't tell you how the entire process works.

If someone wanted to collect money all year round, a bank account would be the safest way to do it. You don't want to be accused of taking money(and it does happen)-the donations would be made out to the fundraiser , without giving out personal info. Donations to "Sirens Fund" c/o ABC Bank, USA. My bank would then write a check to that person, and I would close the account. My bank would not charge me for that account but the money would have to stay in there for 6 months. I was going to do this for my girlfriend but the money was needed asap so I didn't open an account.

Ask for other donations. Contact pirate websites. See if they will donate an item for auction. You have a sword for starters, maybe you will be able to get other pirate items. And really, it doesn't have to be pirate related. Gift certificates are super anytime of year.

I sent letters to businesses from A-Z, asking for any donations. Having a pro football player trainer drive to my house, and handing me an autographed football was the best surprise donation that I recieved for my fundraiser. Most businesses allow for fundraisers and set aside so much for charity.

but someone would have to do the footwork.

If you didn't work with Missionfish, then it would be a wise idea to hand out reciepts for all donations. Again that is to CYA.

At least one person should have Sirens name and address for contact purposes and giving her the donations. With her permission of course. I really hope this will work out.

And maybe there are other ways out there that I didn't hear about or someone else has a better idea.

I think my post is somewhat jumbled but I hope the ideas get across to help out in someway.

[Iron Bess]

(bump)