GoFundMe

[Coop]

My wife won't let me vent, so this is my other outlet. I understand why this was first started, I think. For deserving folks that have lost a loved one or come upon hard times. But, I have a neighbor that she and her boyfriend have a dozen or so kids and she recently lost her job. She sits on her fat ass all day, eating bon bons, smoking cigs and a new tat every other week. She had the gall this past weekend to wottle over and inform me she has set up her own "page" to help her pay her bills. Her mother bought the house for her! There goes the neighborhood

[Tom Cancelleri]

I can understand certain things like a catastrophic event. Last year a house in my area burnt down and the family that lives there lost everything including their cars in the garage. A go fund me was set up for them to getting basic things they needed like clothing, and day to day living items while they waited on the insurance to go through their whole rigamarole of paperwork.

 

I do also know someone that set one up to get funds to pay for his wedding and honeymoon. That is the crap I can't stand.

 

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[Llama]

I had a friend that came down with some medical bills and started one of those pages. I donated to it, as well as MANY others... Anyway, he got a TON of money for his medical bills. Only come to find out his condition cleared, so he decided to buy some very expensive toys. 3K drone, guitars... a whole bunch of stuff. That really ticked me off. There should be some checks on that stuff.

I remember when my father in law said he should start a site so people can send him money. We laughed a him and said, that's not how the internet works silly old man. Well, f me... that's exactly how it works.

 

[estesbubba]

Last summer some dude drank a 30 pack of Busch Light and was being a jackass with fireworks and blew his hand off. Of course when the local TV interviewed his brother he was like "hey we have a GoFundMe set up for him". I agree there are some good reasons for GoFundMe but there are also a lot of WTF GoFundMe's these days. 

[Chet]

All we can do is hope that people use common sense when donating... yea, yea, I know, what was I thinking.

[shaneymack]

Go fund me= modern day hobo

 

 

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[Just Bob]

Growing up one, of the sayings repeated constantly was, "there is a fool born every minute".  The only thing that has changed is the means to collect from that fool.

[wdwerker]

My dad always said " a fool and his money soon part "

[wtnhighlander]

Fortunately, donating to such funds is voluntary.

 

 

So far.

[Coop]

6 minutes ago, wtnhighlander said:

Fortunately, donating to such funds is voluntary.

 

 

So far.

If you know the truth as to what you are sending money for. So sad for those that really need it and the A Holes that abuse it.

[Steve B Anderson]

Generations of families on welfare. That's all they know, government support.

[Pondhockey]

2 hours ago, K Cooper said:

My wife won't let me vent, so this is my other outlet. ...But, I have a neighbor that ... sits on her fat ass all day, eating bon bons, smoking cigs and a new tat every other week. She had the gall this past weekend to wottle over and inform me she has set up her own "page" to help her pay her bills. ...

I sympathize.  Especially with a neighbor, so it's pretty much in your face.

You help me realize how blessed I am to have industrious neighbors - this Saturday they'll all be out for neighborhood clean-up day.  If any of them ever starts a "Go Fund Me" page, I won't even have to question it's integrity.

 

[Bankstick]

P. T. Barnum made the statement- There's a sucker born every minute.

I heard of a lady in town who fell for the "African prince" scam.........twice!

BTW, I need a new car.  Do you need my mailing address?

[MisterDrow]

14 hours ago, Llama said:

I had a friend that came down with some medical bills and started one of those pages. I donated to it, as well as MANY others... Anyway, he got a TON of money for his medical bills. Only come to find out his condition cleared, so he decided to buy some very expensive toys. 3K drone, guitars... a whole bunch of stuff. That really ticked me off. There should be some checks on that stuff.

No matter the cause, I have accepted that if I donate or give money to someone in need (and I mean in actual need, not funding a vacation or whatever), once it leaves my hand I have zero control and zero say over where that money goes.

Same goes with panhandlers. Many of them I see around here are the 'professional' type and have been doing it for years now. Occasionally I will see someone who I just get a feeling needs help. Call it spiritual/divine/whatever, many of you know that feeling. I used to always dismiss it and say, "He/she will probably just buy drugs/alcohol with it..." to justify not giving it. That's not up to me, though. It's not my place to tell someone else what to do with resources I gift to them and if I act as though it is, that only fosters a spirit of resentment in me.

Sure there are a lot of ridiculous GoFundMe campaigns out there... like the one where the kid admitted to speeding and smarting off to an officer and asked for money to pay for his ticket. Last I checked he had been given 10 times what the ticket cost. Those are the ones that will never see a dime from me. For those who are genuinely having a hard time (like a friend of mine's wife who was hit on her Vespa by a driver without insurance and has been hospitalized for a month now), I have no issue giving the money and walking away. If my donation all goes to medical bills or household expenses to help make ends meet, awesome. If my donation goes to buying a round of beers when she's out of the hospital, awesome. It's not up to me and if I respect the person's situation enough to warrant me opening my wallet, that's where I leave it.

That being said, if someone is in need and I give them money and I find that they lied about their need, I'll not give another dime to that person for anything in the future.

[Llama]

No doubt... but it can still piss me off if someone I know is truly in need I will do anything I can to help them. To be taken advantage of so he could buy toys, bs.

 

 

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[Immortan D]

4k drones are toys. 3k drones are not.

[BonPacific]

3 minutes ago, MisterDrow said:

No matter the cause, I have accepted that if I donate or give money to someone in need (and I mean in actual need, not funding a vacation or whatever), once it leaves my hand I have zero control and zero say over where that money goes.

Same goes with panhandlers. Many of them I see around here are the 'professional' type and have been doing it for years now. Occasionally I will see someone who I just get a feeling needs help. Call it spiritual/divine/whatever, many of you know that feeling. I used to always dismiss it and say, "He/she will probably just buy drugs/alcohol with it..." to justify not giving it. That's not up to me, though. It's not my place to tell someone else what to do with resources I gift to them and if I act as though it is, that only fosters a spirit of resentment in me.

Sure there are a lot of ridiculous GoFundMe campaigns out there... like the one where the kid admitted to speeding and smarting off to an officer and asked for money to pay for his ticket. Last I checked he had been given 10 times what the ticket cost. Those are the ones that will never see a dime from me. For those who are genuinely having a hard time (like a friend of mine's wife who was hit on her Vespa by a driver without insurance and has been hospitalized for a month now), I have no issue giving the money and walking away. If my donation all goes to medical bills or household expenses to help make ends meet, awesome. If my donation goes to buying a round of beers when she's out of the hospital, awesome. It's not up to me and if I respect the person's situation enough to warrant me opening my wallet, that's where I leave it.

That being said, if someone is in need and I give them money and I find that they lied about their need, I'll not give another dime to that person for anything in the future.

This is a very sober take, well said.

This is why I never lend money. It's a gift or nothing. Once the cash leaves my hand I try never to think of it again, saves my bloodpressure. Sure people can be self-centered, as Llama illustrated, but that's the point where you stop interacting with them and leave it in the past. 

Coop, I'd say your neighbor is just a jerk, simple as that.

[MisterDrow]

I have a question, though... what about life events that happen which are happy?

I know a guy who works very hard for his family, his wife is has a whole host of medical problems that prevent her from holding down a normal job, and they often struggle to keep food on the table. They are also about the most giving and generous family I know considering the resources they have. They don't have money but often give their time and energy to others in the community and his wife volunteers at the local animal shelter, as well.

I met him through my local Highland Games group. He competes in lots of local and regional events and is quite good... so much so that two years ago he was invited to compete in the World Championship games in Inverness, Scotland. An invite doesn't pay for the trip, though, so after some prompting, he put up a GoFundMe page to raise money for it. Many of us donated, many more I don't know also donated, and in the end he was able to go with his wife on the trip of a lifetime for them and he was able to compete (and did quite well considering how big many of those guys are!) and build some amazing memories.

He got a lot of flak for that GoFundMe campaign, though. People told him it was disgusting for him to ask for a paid vacation when others work so hard to save up for less, among many worse insults. He didn't care about getting a free ride, he was just taking a chance to see if he could realize a dream that he would never be able to make happen otherwise.

[Immortan D]

11 minutes ago, MisterDrow said:

I have a question, though... what about life events that happen which are happy?

I know a guy who works very hard for his family, his wife is has a whole host of medical problems that prevent her from holding down a normal job, and they often struggle to keep food on the table. They are also about the most giving and generous family I know considering the resources they have. They don't have money but often give their time and energy to others in the community and his wife volunteers at the local animal shelter, as well.

I met him through my local Highland Games group. He competes in lots of local and regional events and is quite good... so much so that two years ago he was invited to compete in the World Championship games in Inverness, Scotland. An invite doesn't pay for the trip, though, so after some prompting, he put up a GoFundMe page to raise money for it. Many of us donated, many more I don't know also donated, and in the end he was able to go with his wife on the trip of a lifetime for them and he was able to compete (and did quite well considering how big many of those guys are!) and build some amazing memories.

He got a lot of flak for that GoFundMe campaign, though. People told him it was disgusting for him to ask for a paid vacation when others work so hard to save up for less, among many worse insults. He didn't care about getting a free ride, he was just taking a chance to see if he could realize a dream that he would never be able to make happen otherwise.

I wouldn't have contributed to that cause. Now if he asked money for his wife to take an Ikebana course or whatever, so she could work at home and so maybe in the future they could fulfill their dreams, after some hard work of course, then yes, I would've probably contributed considering they're nice to the community.

[MisterDrow]

Just now, Immortan D said:

I wouldn't have contributed to that cause. Now if he asked money for his wife to take an Ikebana course or whatever, so she could work at home and so maybe in the future they could fulfill their dreams, after some hard work of course, then yes, I would've probably contributed considering they're nice to the community.

And honestly that's fine. For us in the HG community it was about helping a giving and generous friend to have a once in a lifetime experience. I think it was mostly our community who gave to that cause but I know there were a few large donations that were given by people none of the rest of us knew. 

I don't think I would have given to the cause had I not known the guy, but I don't necessarily fault those types of campaigns, either. It's up to me to whom I open my wallet.

[MisterDrow]

Bottom line, anyone can ask for money. Doesn't matter if it's panhandling, GoFundMe, etc. People have been doing it for centuries. No one is obligated to give and I do myself a disservice by seeking to find any hidden agenda the person may or may not have in that it only makes me into a more bitter and less compassionate person (at least I have found... your mileage may vary).

[prov163]

My wife and I ride Harley's in a club and we are approached all the time by folks who need a "fundraiser."  Most ridiculous was a woman who twisted her ankle and wanted us to put on a ride to help pay her bills because she would be out of work for a couple of weeks.  When I told her it would be three months before we could pull one together she said, "I thought bikers liked to help people.  I guess it's true that bikers are a bunch of low-lifes that only care about booze and tits."  My only reply was, "Yep, we love both of those, but you, not so much."  She stormed off.  Afterwards my wife jokingly said, "I almost flashed her my boobs."  RFLOL.  

I'm always happy to help someone who is truly in a tough spot but there is so much of the thing Coop talked about going on today that it's harder to weed out the needy from the greedy.

[Tpt life]

I need a connection, a voice that can speak for the need. Eric raised for someone because those in this community trusted Eric's assessment of the need. When I can get that, I give with the philosophy mentioned above. The money may buy Friday pizza. They are still on the hook for the bills. My needs are more than met. I will not miss the gift for long if at all. 

[rodger.]

4 hours ago, MisterDrow said:

No matter the cause, I have accepted that if I donate or give money to someone in need (and I mean in actual need, not funding a vacation or whatever), once it leaves my hand I have zero control and zero say over where that money goes.

Same goes with panhandlers. Many of them I see around here are the 'professional' type and have been doing it for years now. Occasionally I will see someone who I just get a feeling needs help. Call it spiritual/divine/whatever, many of you know that feeling. I used to always dismiss it and say, "He/she will probably just buy drugs/alcohol with it.

I stopped giving money to panhandlers. Now I will give them a sandwich, or coffee, or something like that. Then I know at least they are eating, and are not tempted to spend the cash on booze or drugs.

[BonPacific]

Just now, Pug said:

I stopped giving money to panhandlers. Now I will give them a sandwich, or coffee, or something like that. Then I know at least they are eating, and are not tempted to spend the cash on booze or drugs.

Haven't done it myself, but I know folks who pack aid-kits in big ziplocs for homeless and beggars. Keep them in their cars to hand out. Energy/meal bars, vitamins, toiletries and such.