You are a tourist on a city street... trying to find your way. How do you get help?

Help Yourself

You use a map or a booklet with information about the city. That's ok... although... feels a bit like work... and is somewhat lonely.

People Helping People

You ask a passer-by for directions... Or simply, a passer-by recognizes your "tourist" behavior, stops on his/her own will and spends 30 seconds (often much more) helping you. You feel good. The passer-by feels even better. Witnessing onlookers feel good too. What happens is an easy, almost instinctive "give and take"... so natural that we don't even think about who "gives", who "takes", or why is this happening. This is not "giving"... people are just helping each other.

So... what is Aidpage?

Aidpage is a free public space on the Web where you can:

• speak out about your problems and needs,
• act upon your need to help others,
• join or organize groups for good causes.

Aidpage fosters informal communication among Aidmates, sharing of experience, and mutual support. Simply posting on Aidpage makes you an Aidmate.

E-Bay enables the simple, direct "people buying from people" over the Internet.

Aidpage enables the simple, direct "people helping people" over the Internet.

Need to know more?

Here are a few links to the aidpages of veteran Aidmates:

• WHO ~ KNEW
• Soulight
• Elaine of TSA
• Ekikaseven
• Lady Christie

See also:

• Instructions: How to Use Aidpage
• How Does Aidpage Work
• Why Aidpage...

(updated May 12, 2008)

I have been away from Aidpage, but not completely out of the picture. What I have I been up to?

I had been making many attempts to still get the word out about what I am doing, but I had not been received well at a couple places:

• Myspace kicked me off four times. The fourth time, I managed to keep the page running for a few months, and I logged in only to discover that I was removed once again. I am not sure what their reasoning was. It was a description of how I was helping others. I had helped many families through that page so it was very disappointing, and I lost track of people in line to receive help.
  
• I posted a page on Squidoo.com. and that page, too was removed after receiving a lot of criticism from members there. I wasnt asking for money; only describing how I was helping others. Apparently I seemed a little too good to be true or people just didnt believe me.

I HAVE been accepted with open arms at WishUponAHero.com. I am very active there under the name 'The Empty Hanger' Here is how I have helped and currently help others. To date, I have granted over 20 wishes, and more that is not tallied on the site.

• Sending cards for birthdays, encouragement, friendship, sympathy. That just costs a stamp!
• Offering advice on situations
• Sending books (via media mail)
• Sending spiritual literature (I returned to church in January accepting Jesus into my life)
  
• Sending small packages of clothes
• Sending coupons
• Sending school supplies
  
• Sending my old eyeglass frames to woman who cannot afford new ones. (current)
• Workiing on a HUGE giveaway starting May 1st for WUAH. (shipping covered by anonymous donor)
  

OTHER CHANGES

• 'The Empty Hanger' has been scaled back to a local operation. It was a difficult decision. Aside from what I do above, I still manage to provide packages of good usable clothing to persons in need. I find them at the local food pantry mostly, and word of mouth. Someone will email me at projectemptyhanger@mail2me.com, and we arrange a mutual public meeting place for the person's safety and mine. Its worked out pretty well, and I bypass shipping costs altogether. I do ask a lot of questions beforhand, because my genorisity has been taken advantage of on several occasions, and it is how I screen people. I find that those that are evasive are not being honest with me.
• I am considering turning over 'The Empty Hanger' as an outreach project at my church.

ADVOCACY

• Alzheimer's Awareness My dad passed away from the disease January 21st, 2008. He was diagnosed in 2003, and we watched this independant and strong man fight for a long time until we had to place him in a nursing home in 2006. It wiped us out financially and emotionally. I've currently been put into a position to help my mom who lost his pension (because she was not married to him when he retired). I use his likeness in many ways to help educate others about Alzheimer's. I am beginning an initiative for leglislation so that no other families should be forced into poverty for making the decision to place a totall dependant loved one into long-term care. You can view a video I made by visiting the following link: Alzheimer's Video
• NEW! I also have changed my dad's tribute page to one of an Alzheimer's Awareness subject matter. It is called: Alzheimer's: Know More. I have also created tshirts and other merchandice to raise funds to donate to my local Alzheimer's association.
  
• Go to the tribute page.
  

If your family is affected by this disease and need some advice or just to talk, please email me at projectemptyhanger@mail2me.com, and put 'Alzheimers' in the subject line.

Elaine, for all your help and support to 'The Empty Hanger'

Staff and Admin of Aidpage for your support

Everyone here who reads and takes interest in my little endeavor!

I'm having a rummage sale! (Updated May 12th)

Locally, my mobile home community is having a rummage sale at the beginning of June. I am hoping to raise enough money on my own so that I can use some of the proceeds to send out a few more packages. My family has been busily cleaning out the house and garage, and wow the treasures that we accumulate in a year.

If you live in the Northwest Indiana area, and are interested in learning more about my community's rummage sale, please don't hesistate to ask. I will be offering discounts to my local friends at Wish Upon A Hero, and I am offering the same here on Aidpages. For details, please ask.

I am a SAHM mom of 2 toddlers and a step-mom to a pre-teen. I am a loving and supportive spouse to a man in the Army.

I am looking for a few games to be gifts for my kids.  Games will be great for the kids and for us. We can sit down and have some family nights before my other half ends up deployed again. Hoping the kids will remember those nights with 'daddy' and can't wait for him to come back so we can do it again.

Also on my links I have a site that I am trying to sell things to get money to cover bills, food, and gifts. Thx =)

You can  PM if you have more questions or would like to help out. Thank you and God Bless All of You!

I am desperately seeking Christmas help for my 16 year old son. I am disabled with barely enough income to make ends meet. My son doesn't qualify for any programs because he is too old, anyone that can help will greatly be appreciated, thankyou.

I am a mother who has recently become disabled. I am attempting to get help through Social Security, but this can take up to 30 months. I have had 14 surgeries in the past. I am on 7 different medications daily and it takes all the money I can get to purchase it.

My daughter has ADHD, acid reflux, and suffers from depression. She is on 3 medications  and luckily she qualifies for help on her medicines since she is a child.

My ex-husband is over $45,000.00 in arrears on child support. They say he is on the "locate" list. This means that they cannot find him by putting his name in a computer. He is now listed on Georgia's Most Wanted Child Support Evaders list. I put up a link to that page as he is listed now. If you see him, turn him in. He has warrants issued for his arrest in Stephens County, Georgia.

We don't have ANY money for Christmas this year, and all the charities around my area only want to help people who have children under the age of 12. PLEASE help me make my daughter's Christmas special. If you want to help you can send a gift to the address below. She LOVES Tinkerbell and Georgia Bulldogs. She needs clothes (Sizes are shirt--Medium, Pants--size 10 ladies, shoes--size 8 ladies.). Thank you in advance for anything you can do to help! God bless you and your families.

If you wish to have more information you can email me at semmaf@yahoo.com. If you cannot or prefer not to use PayPal my address is 795 Seven Forks Road, Martin, GA 30557. Thanks for caring enough to read my story.

Im in need of help  funding for christmas or to pay my light bill and other important bills.Im

married with two girl age 13 and 11 years old..........My husband and i have always worked very hard.My husband had a accident last Dec.2005 .He cant work and hasnt got SSI appoved yet.He has alot of other health problem since accident and i have depression so bad from my mothers death.

I work seasonal income tax preparer.I have worked other jobs but they didnt pay enough barely just to get me to and from work..We live so far out in the country.This year has been rough for my family.We have never had to ask for any help.I have called churches and other resouces they all say that thier fundings are out.Please if you know of any resouces in Georgia or one that will help familes in georgia please let me know.I know its not Christmas yet but,im thinking and worried about it now.I firgured i would try and find some resouces early if there are any before they run out....Thanks for read.......Crystal

 I am mom to 5 including a 14 y/o girl, 6 year old boy and triplets who are almost 2 1/2, two boys and a girl. My husband is self employed as a drain cleaner but work started slowing down back in May, and though we thought it would pick up over the summer, it didnt.  The bank started foreclosure proceedings on our home in August and we now have it up for sale as we can't make the payments.  So far we are managing to keep it at just under 90 days behind so they can't foreclose, but it is taking every dime.  My car got reposessed back in October and so far we have not been able to get it back, so I can't even get to the food pantry or anything.  If anyone could help us out for Christmas or steer me in the right direction I would appreciate it very much.  God Bless

Jennifer

Tripletsplus2@aol.com

I just got replaced at work for my employers daughter...

just weeks before christmas and days before my oldests 12th birthday.

I really need help, any financial aid would be appriciated.  My paypal account is mysweetie@paypal.com  my email is mysweetie@shaw.ca 

I realize there are places I can go to get help but there are waiting periods and christmas will be over...

Thanks so much in advance

Hello, I am not one to ask for charity and actually not to toot my own horn but i would always be the first to help anyone and still do but not monetarily. Anyways i lost my job for being moraly correct and reporting managers to corporate for the way they treatedd people and i got fired after ten years of working there for misuse of company eqiuptment....wihich means they monitored my emails and fired me for receiving an email that showed a womans breast....lol....So i collected my unemployment but still unable to find a job, i guess i have a bad raap and since i do not lie, i tell the truth and seem like a snitch that no company wants to hire. I don't want anything other than people to check out my ebay auction of stuff i am selling to be able to purchase some small things for my son and fiance and faamily for xmas. So if you like here is the address, god bless you and yours and merry x-mas

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=7370471148&rd=1&sspagename=STRK%3AMESE%3AIT&rd=1

   Merry Christmas

I will be as brief as possible in sharing the last four years that led up to today’s cry for help.  

I have always worked hard, paid my bills and taxes, am a model citizen, never had a traffic ticket when I drove, never in trouble with the law, am a devoted mother, daughter, sister and friend and give my all to my family. My life was going along fine until I became ill with spinal meningitis on June 14^th of 2003. One month later, it was discovered that the virus had spread from my brain through the optic nerve in both eyes to the retina.  The retina is considered the film of the eye the same as there is film in a camera.  Without the film, there is no picture. The virus destroyed part of the retina in both eyes. I was rushed to Bascom Palmer Eye Institute in Miami Florida for laser surgery and a one week IV treatment to save what was left of my eyesight. I am now legally blind in both eyes.

Here I am four years later still recovering and fighting my battle to have some type of normal life.

After numerous injections in the eyes and the withdrawal of fluid from the eyes for testing, I didn’t think I could endure another hurdle. I was wrong; I became adrenal insufficient due to the long term steroid use to treat my failing eyesight. This is considered a terminal disease which requires the use of life long steroid replacement therapy. Long term steroid use causes an array of problems. I have developed cataracts in both eyes, bone necrosis in both knees, and osteoporosis to name a few. There are many other disorders I have not developed such as diabetes and lymphoma. I am grateful for that.

Now, getting to the financial aspect of what happened. I could no longer work when I lost my vision completely and had to quit my job with the government. I loved my job and looked forward to going to work everyday. I was good at it and loved helping others. I could not afford the cobra insurance so I have been uninsured since I left work in October of 2005. I have been waiting the 2 and ½ year wait for Medicare coverage. I was approved for Social Security Disability Insurance when I was no longer working. The money I get from SSDI and Child Support is too much to be eligible for Medicaid Insurance.  I am lucky to get both but with prescription costs of over $1,500 per month there is not much left over for everything else.

My Income is too high for any public assistance or food stamps.

I own my home but had to refinance it earlier this year to help my son who is in college, pay off some medical bills and help my teenager daughter get a car so she could go to work. I have to pay for all of my doctor visits (I have a team of 5 physicians), all of my medications and lab work. I have done without many of my medications because I just can’t afford them. One is over $600.00 per month.  My doctors have been great.  They charge me reduced rates all the time and give me samples of medications when they have them.  But there is only so much they can do. 

I have my home up for sale, which is breaking my heart but it has become too expensive. I doubt I will make anything on the sale; I am just trying to get out from a possible foreclosure. Then I guess my daughter and I will live somewhere here in town. If I loose the house to foreclosure, then I will have no money to rent a new place to live. We may have to live in her car for a while. This will be hard to do but we may have no other choice.

If you could help me financially, I will be eternally grateful and promise to pass on the generosity to someone else one day.

My dream is to pay off my $145,000 mortgage, or get the payments caught up and back on track, pay off the few bills I have so that I can survive month to month, stay in my home, stay healthy, afford my medications and medical care. My daughter would also be able to stay in school.

This is a true story and you can verify each and every statement. I have asked my family and friends to help me but none of them are in a position to help me.

I just don’t know what else to do but ask for help from strangers. Please consider helping me and my daughter out of this mess. I know you have worked hard for your money but if you are in a position to make a donation to help someone less fortunate, please let it be me.

If you read this and just want to make rude and abusive comments, please don't.  I do not respond to these types of comments.  They will be deleted.  My understanding is that this is a website of people trying to help each other, not cut each other down and make judgements and nasty remarks.  If you have helpful comments or ideas of how I can help myself, send them to me.  I have a family member who helps me do this web search for help. 

I know that there are always others  much worse off than myself and i wish that i could help them, but that does not dismiss the fact that I also need help.  Thank you so much for taking the time to read my story, I know you must get lots of cries for help.  This is an honest one, I promise you.

Sincerely,

dbradfordv@bellsouth.net

i am a mom of 3 young boys and we need your help.......8 days till christmas and i just received an eviction notice to be out by jan 3rd  if you can find it in your heart to help me buy my boys some presents and find a new place we would be very appreciative....we cant promise a payback because i never have an extra penny ever....but maybe you have an extra dollar or more for us......please help me help them in life!!!!!!!!they are innocent and affected by my situation!!! thank you so much for reading this and helping us!!!

 My name on here is sadmommy77 and over all I am still a sadmommy, it's my nature. Our life got turned upside down a while back and I never thought we make our way out. Still have doubts sometimes, but hey we got our heads out of the water...finally! After a year of nightmares and heartaches I had my doubts about Christmas. After all nothing else was working out right.

  I  made a post about our story on here, not expecting, hoping but not expecting help. A lovely person took time out to write me and that alone made my eyes smiles. Then she sent me some wonderful things that I know my daughter will love! What she did for me and my child..words can not even explain the act of kindness. She is my angel.

  Anyway, while we are still struggling with some things, we are making it thru this. still looking for a home that will allow my pets. Fingers crossed and big prayers, I think we found one. We was able to get a tree  and bought a couple outfits for my daughter from the missing children's thrift store and SPCA store. So while we got great deals on gently used cloths for my daughter we also helped out those charities by shopping there. I never thought about those places and they have such nice things.

 So I wanted to take my post down asking for help and put this post up. I have some things for young girls, mainly toys, that my daughter don't play with anymore, good to fair condition. They are for anyone who truly needs them. Only thing is you will have to pay for postage. I can not afford to do that.

I will Work in exchange for Christmas Gifts for Two Kids!

I am a 30 year old female.  I was recently laid off, single mother of two children, ages 11 and 5.  I have over ten years Customer Service experience.  Word, Excel ,data Entry.  And I also have five years of Caregiver experience.  I have been in search of employment for the last few months an I havent had any luck  Any job leads, or anyone even knowing someone that may need a sitter for their love one, or need so help with catching up in the office or anything please feel free to contact me i would greatly appreciate it.  i am currently available to work any hours from 8:00am until 5:00pm.  Christmas time is nearing so the need for employment is urgent.  If there is any way that I may be of any assistance to you to make a Christmas for my kids please let me know.  Also I am in the Cleveland, Ohio area.  Thanks may your day be blessed and hope to hear from you soon.

Tomeka

Well these are my two girls in the picture... I love them to death and I just don't want to dissapoint them... They keep telling us that they just want to move out of these apartments we live in and I just cant do it... I can even afford cable for them to watch.. It really sucks.

I hurt myself last year and am still not released to go back to work its really hard.. Their dad is disabled and no money coming in for him this is really hard .. I know sobb story... This is my last route to go thank you for looking at my page...

Note: This aidpage was started as a comment on "KIDS - SERVICES SPECIFICALLY FOR CHILDREN"

i am a 22 yr old single mother of a 2 yr old a 1 yr old and expecting my 3rd baby in october i am in desperate need of baby items for infant boys .. anything is appreciated .clothes,acessories i am in new jersey..

EMAIL ME AT     XXSWEETNSESYXX@AOL.COM

Single mom In need of a christmas angel or miracle worker. I have been recovering from a bad fall and was on no-work status up until this last week, I am now part time as a babysitter while still on crutches. . I am  unable to pay the mortgage for december.  This has been a very scary time for me and my 2 children. They are scared, it is christmas, and if we end up homeless, we have no where to go. That scares me to the point I am not sleeping well. I applied for assistance and was denied housing assistance. They used the car as an asset.. It is old, hardly running and isn't keeping my family alive and they used it against me. I don't have any tears left. I am frightened for what is going to happen to us. My mortgage is $786.00 and I just don't have it.  I don't have any resources left eaither.  The local salvation army says they won't have funds until february for rental help and it is only enough to help about 15 families. On my previous post I needed help with utilities as well, but that has been taken care of through payment arrangements to the utility company.  I appreciate whatever help I can get, there seems to be many people in the same boat this year.  My prayers are with you all this holiday season.

Hi, I am a volunteer fireman  and I am a millworker on layoff do to the economy i am married and have 2 daughters my wife is employed also, but the layoff has put us in bad financial debt. our power and gas bills are are in a disconnect stat. and christmas is right here....... if we could get a personal loan to get us by and pay off most of our dept we would gladly pay a payment back to you... I will be back to work in 2 weeks we dont want a hand-out we just need a little help the total loan amount is $3000.00 this would catch us up on space rent and pay off our trailer as well as pay our utilities..we could pay a payment monthly please please help