Vampire Gerbil Guardian Angels - Ante In

Totally Judy

Totally Judy

Joined
Dec 3, 2000
Messages
4,347
Hey Everyone....

For those of you who have not been following the Vampire Gerbil thread in W&C, and for those of you who do not know that VG had a stroke a while back and now has a "shrinking brain" condition (seriously, he does), we are trying to set up something to get VG some assistance in going grocery shopping, etc. There is an organization called Visiting Angels and they have an office in Pahrump where VG lives.

We are wanting to have members on this list who desire to assist Dave (VG), make a contribution to the "Vampire Gerbil Guarding Angel Fund." We, The Guardian Angels, would fund the Visiting Angels to help get Dave to the grocery store, etc. Below are details.

I talked to a gal at the Visiting Angels in Pahrump and got a cost breakdown:

- 2 hour minimum @ $17.95/hr (per week)

- 10-25 hours per week @16.95

So we are talking $36 just for a trip to the grocery store and any other errands - under 2 hours. Over 2 hours, tack on another $17.95.

If we did this twice a month, that's $72.00 minimum. And it could cost a little more. If we want to have a little cushion, we would need at least 20 Bastids to step up to the plate with an upfront commitment of $60 to cover the first year and then ongoing years. No slackers allowed. This amounts to $5 a month - but to make it less of a hassle - $60 upfront to ensure Dave is covered.

If people want to contribute and make payment via Paypal, the cost would be $61.80 to cover the Paypal fee. Sorry, but I have yet to win the Lottery!

If we can't commit to that - then we need to stop this right now. I am not going to call Dave and ask him to get involved in talking to the Director of the Visiting Angels if we aren't willing to go the distance with this.

I am willing to handle the finance end to get the Visiting Angels paid and to deposit all contributions and keep the spreadsheet, etc. etc. etc. But I do not want to have to be a nag and ask anyone for money all the time. I have no problem sending out a reminder email to all the Guardian Angels, but I am not your mother.

We either commit to this or we drop it. I need a minimum of 20 members to commit to the $60 upfront and then ongoing annually for an indefinite period of time. That is $60 a year to help out a friggin' rodent.

Please ante in on this thread, or email me at:

totallyjudy@yahoo.com

When I get 20 commitments, I'll let you know. The Guardian Angels are not limited to 20 people - the more the merrier and the better!!!!

Hoping to hear a lot of "Count me in" voices.......

Judy
 
I'm in. Just let me know when/where you need the money.
 
This evening I spoke with Albert, the Director of the Visiting Angels. It turns out that he is already familiar with VG's situation! He remembers the death of Dave's wife, his stroke, etc. Apparently they were contacted a couple a times a while back about getting him help. Dave doesn't qualify for any State assistance because his disability check is over the income limit. Albert said that people who are only $30-$40 over the limit get denied assistance. I imagine it was a financial shortage why Dave was not able to get their help - he certainly couldn't pay for it out of pocket.

So I talked with Albert and explained what we wanted to do and what our monthly budget is for the next year. He seemed very intent on getting us the most services for our budget. He will meet with Dave to determine how they can best help him with grocery shopping, maybe even a little cleaning. I was very impressed that this organization doesn't just try to get as much time for their employees as possible, but they try to get the most out of every $$ for the client.

I tried to call Dave, but got the machine. I will try again later. I'll tell Dave what his friends here want to do for him, and let him know that he can call Albert, or Albert will contact him at the beginning of next week to set up an appointment with Dave.

Regarding the finances, I told Albert that I would be handling those and I would also be the point of contact. He advised against having too many cooks in the kitchen because problems can arise. I told him it would not be a problem and there would be a checking account opened solely for depositing contributions and issuing payments to them via online banking.

Albert commends all of Dave's friends who are helping him out. He thinks it is a great thing everyone is doing.

What I found comforting about talking to Albert is that he understands that Dave not only have a physical limitation, but also a mental one.

I made sure that he understood that Dave is very special to all of us and that you all collect or make knives. No threat implied. ;)

I think I did say something like, "Don't MAKE us come out there." :cool: Nah, I didn't say that. Albert is a youngish guy, and seems to sincerely care about people. AND dogs! Anyone who loves dogs and volunteers to find them homes and volunteers at a no-kill shelter is okay in my book. So Albert's alright.

We're grooving now..............

Judy
 
I'm in too. Don't be surprised that our Paypal account has my wife's name on it. The Paypal memo has my email address for annual reminders.
 
I know what a stroke can do. I had a small one and got away with it pretty much intact. (TIA I think mine was called) anyway, I want to enlist. Let me know how I can add to the kitty.

email addy is real. I just checked to make sure. Family is as family does.
 
who's email addy is real? Mine? Of course it is. totallyjudy@yahoo.com

You can help out by sending a check for at least $60 to:

ME! :cool:

Judith Lynn Laffoon
P O Box 1198
Twentynine Palms, CA 92277-0928

I've had this P O Box for almost 17 years so they sorta know me by now.

Judy
 
I am copying this from Ren's post in W&C:

Ren the devils trailboss said:
OK

Judy has asked me to post this..Payments via paypal can be sent to my paypal account which is a verified account. It appears Judy is near her limit of 8 transactions.

Paypal to

cornsales@cablespeed.com

Please put in memo Angels of mercy or for VG so that I know the fundage is designated for Dave.

Thanks

Ren
Click to expand...

==========================

Thanks much.

Judy
 
Jeff Clark said:
Hi Judy, I directed my Paypal payment to you via your totallyjudy@yahoo.com email account. Is that correct. Can you collect that from Paypal?
Click to expand...

Jeff, I refunded it to you. That is an old account with no bank associated to it. I did the refund before it occurred to me that I could set up one of my other bank accounts to it. Sorry.:eek:

judy
 
I have not been reading alot of the forums lately... I am glad a friend emailed me about the wings. I just recently talked to another thinking of getting an internet hook up and 12 of us take a month... this is even better. I am in on this! I will send a check out monday to totally Judy. I never met Dave but I love him like a brother if that makes sense, I am not to sure about recognition- I ain't done that much for him. I do hope the support I and other have given brings a smile and strength to his heart.
 
TallPaul,

You're awesome! Every contribution helps our cause - which is to help Dave with the basics - getting to the store to buy groceries, a little house cleaning, internet access, etc.

Thank you so much. I promise that your contribution will be put to good use.

Judy
 
Well, as of about 3 days ago, I think there were something like 37 contributors. And several of those had made additional contributions. Plus, I have maybe 4-6 new contributions that have not yet been added to the list.

So.....we will be at around 45 Angels pretty soon. And it is great that folks still are pitching in.

I can't even describe how much VG needs our help. It is beyond what I ever expected. It is overwhelming.

But I am determined to do everything I can to make Dave's daily existence better than what it is. I can't fix his problems, but I can help get his living conditions improved, and I believe he has agreed to give me a certain amount of money I have requested from his disability check so I can dole out grocery money to his throughout the month. He has to have money in order for the Visiting Angels to be able to take him shopping. So I will be buying Wal-Mart Shopping Cards and sending one each week to be used for groceries.

And none of this would be possible without the contributions of the folks on this list.

Thank you all so very much. If all goes well with the computer this week - after the new monitor arrives - I hope to have Dave online by Saturday evening. I'm keeping my fingers crossed.

Thanks again, Chad.

Judy
 
Paypal payments can now be sent to my paypal address again:

1badgirl@innocent.com

That will cut out the extra step of Ren having to download the Paypal $$$$ and the send me a check.

I can just download the payments directly to the VG account.

Thanks,

Judy
 
Totally Judy said:
Paypal payments can now be sent to my paypal address again:

1badgirl@innocent.com

That will cut out the extra step of Ren having to download the Paypal $$$$ and the send me a check.

I can just download the payments directly to the VG account.

Thanks,

Judy
Click to expand...

~ ><> ~ ~ ><> ~ This is very considerate of you T J..! :thumbup: Thanks very kindly for all your efforts here.:)

I am now immediately going to send off yet another donation to the one and only Vampire Gerbil to see if'n I can get a little something started!..

.. I would also ask that all the other forumite members to just dig down deep and wide and send in what they can right now and spread the love around on a Tuesday evening.. :D

So please be a blessing today to one of the good guys and his kin ~ ><>
 
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