Helping Hand project - Page 4

bitequator · 3 Jan 2004, 10:07 PM

What a nice project to resurrect with the start of the new year. You have my vote too.

All hail kander (I feel that JeffK is serious)

**gpdoyon** · 3 Jan 2004, 10:12 PM

Hello Everyone!

Wow, this thread sure has picked up some steam! For the past six months or so I've had my attention drawn away from the "Helping Hand Project". My goal, when this all started, was to donate one FastMail "Member" account to a needy member of the FastMail community.

Some times it was very hard to determine who, out of dozens of solicitations for the free account, was the most needy. Here is how I did it.

First, I'd post a message in the FastMail forum that we were accepting new requests for a free "Member" account for the month of January, for example. I'd ask that the person asking for the free account should tell me a little about their circumstances and tell me why they just can't afford to pay the amount required on their own. A lot of the stories was very touching. Some times it was very difficult to pick just one.

At times it was also very easy to deny someone the opportunity to receive a free account. How? Some of the people asking for a free FastMail account would actually e-mail me using a non-FastMail e-mail account. Folks, if you are going to ask us for a premium e-mail account you should, at the very least, use the service that you are asking a help with! Oh, I almost forgot. I thinks it's best of the people who want to be considered for a free account should e-mail the "Helping Hand" people directly and not[ post their request here on the forums.

After a very short amount of time it got a lot easier to give away free accounts to worthy people. The great folks at FastMail said that they'd like to help by giving the project matching funds. Wow!! So, at the end of the month I'd tally up the total dollar amount of donations I'd receive and send en e-mail to the FastMail guys.

They would then send me a FastMail gift certificate for the matching funds. I was then usually able to donate at least two, often times three or more "Member" accounts because of all the generous FastMail members out here. You would not believe the good will and yes, love, that the people of these forums have for each other. People whom they have never met.

Finally, as much as you'd like to praise the person(s) who have contributed to the project you MUST ask their permission before doing so. Once the month's account(s) have been awarded I'd let everyone know who the lucky people were and also share with you the people who wanted to be recognized for their generosity.

I think that more than one person could help in determining which applicants are most deserving for a donated account but ultimately only one person should hold the money.

I want to thank all of you (and you know how you are!) who donated to the FastMail "Helping Hand" project. You guys are the BEST!!

I suspect that the person who will take my place will be announced in the next day or so.

Gerry
"Helping Hand"

camner · 3 Jan 2004, 10:52 PM

OK, I'd like to help get this "jump started" for Kander....

I will match, up to $50, any contributions to Helping Hand made within the next week (that is, by Monday, Jan. 3, 12:00 am GMT). And, since the FM gang matches funds as well, a contribution of $3.50 (if I do my math(s)

right) will buy someone a membership.

Now, just a vagrant thought...
After reading about the Miami project (http://www.emaildiscussions.com/...threadid=14116), I'm wondering if there is anyway to have this project reach out beyond those who already have the means to hear about FM the usual way, which is to be somewhat net savvy and already have access to the net. I'm sure there are other efforts like the Miami project going on around the world...

JamesHenderson · 3 Jan 2004, 11:23 PM

I'm probably going to hell for this, but I just can't resist...

Mon 03-Jan is next ocurring in 2005 (today is the 3rd).

Did you mean Mon-5 or Mon-12, 2004?

he he he.

James.

I guess I should donate something now for that.

camner · 3 Jan 2004, 11:49 PM

OK, so I can count to $15 but I can't keep track of what day it is

! I meant in the next week, so I guess that's Monday, Jan 12...Jeez, that's what I get for not being able to sleep and getting up too darn early and trying to think!

kander · 4 Jan 2004, 12:08 AM

Camner,

That is so cool of you to do! Many thanks for your generosity.

Also, many thanks to everyone who has shown his/her support here... I feel it's important to be backed by the community when taking something like this on... Gerry, I'd hereby like to formally, offically and technically apply for the position of new Helping Hand Administrator.

The ball's in your court now.

--K

DianeB · 4 Jan 2004, 03:39 AM

OK--I'm really getting into the spirit here, but of course, you folks already know me well enough to know that I have questions & I'm not shy about asking!

Quote:

Originally posted by camner:
OK, I'd like to help get this "jump started" for Kander....

I will match, up to $50, any contributions to Helping Hand made within the next week (that is, by Monday, Jan. 3, 12:00 am GMT). And, since the FM gang matches funds as well, a contribution of $3.50 (if I do my math(s) right) will buy someone a membership.

If FM matches contributions, wouldn't that mean, for instance, if I were to donate $14.95 (the cost of a Member account), then FM also donates $14.95, which would equal being able to give 2 folks a Member account?

For some reason, I'm not quite following camner's '$3.50 will buy someone a membership'. Though highly likely I've not had enough caffeine yet!

Whether I'm able to do the math correctly or not, I will 2nd camners offer, with the exception that I will donate, straight out, $50.00, no matching necessary & no time frame. So my next question is, how do I go about sending my donation in? To options & Gift Certificate? If I do that, I can't show that the Gift Certificate is for a certain someone, as we don't know who it would go to. I don't care who it goes to, I just want to make certain that I donate in the correct way, where the funds all go to the 'Helping Hands' project. Doing a little math here, I'm upping that to $59.80. That is enough for 4 accounts PLUS whatever FM matches.

I'm not doing this for any type recognition of sorts. I well remember folks helping me out during a time of need & would like to pass some along to others.

Quoting Chipper here:

Quote:

Couple of things:

1) I liked Diane's story as well. There was a couple in a church I used to attend when I was a starving college student who used to invite me to dinner at their house and/or include me when they went out to dineer. I could never repay their generosity, but I have tried to pass what they did for me on to others.

It does my heart good when I can pass on to others also. I've had 2 other severe crisis, both in 2003, non financially related. But my online friends stood beside me in my time of need, offering their support, caring & compassion. And also offering donations of time & effort in printing up fliers, posters, posting on websites, etc. A brief synopsis, my 2 teenage daughters had run away from home & my online friends went way beyond anything imaginable, in trying to help in anyway they could. I even had folks that live 3-4 hours away, offering to come & stay with me to help me make it through the long days & nights of not knowing if my children were safe or not. A parent's worse nightmare, not knowing if their children or safe or not. (thank God, both times, they were found safe & unharmed, but only by the grace of God & lots of prayers!)

As Susan mentioned, we do have to pick & choose our online friends carefully. But we are adults & we know how to be 'safe' online, whereas children AND teens do not. But I fully feel that the majority of folks we meet online are some of the best people in the world.

So, as not to have it lost in this maze, exactly how & where do I go to make my donation, to make certain it goes into the 'Helping Hands' fund?

Kander -- I feel certain that your application for Administrator will be accepted,

so congrats & and a huge thank you for taking on the responsibilities of this.

Diane

kander · 4 Jan 2004, 03:50 AM

Hey Diane,

If, or more likely, when, I am appointed as Main Man for the Helping Hand I'll set up an account, to which you can transfer money by means of a gift certificate.

Lemme do some math here...

Diane donates $59,80 no restrictions at all (that's 4 Member accounts). Then Camner comes along and doubles it, up to $50. We've got $109,80 now. Add to that any donations by others. Then Fastmail doubles it again, leading to $219,60 + all donations by others doubled.

That's at least 14 member accounts, and a bit for next round as well. Holy cow! People... I think you'd better start looking for someone who needs a member account, or we won't have enough applicants to give away to!

$3,50 will buy a member account (well, almost) because:

Person X donates $3,50.
Camner doubles this -> $7,00
Fastmail doubles this -> $14,00
Kander indirectly adds the remaining $.95, through the Helping Hand pool. -> $14,95

I can imagine people having questions that they perhaps are hesitant to post on these forums in public... if you do, you can always drop me a line at helpinghand AT kander DOT promessage DOT com - Nothing discussed through private mail will be made public.

--K

**Sherry** · 4 Jan 2004, 04:33 AM

Quote:

Originally posted by kander
If, or more likely, when, I am appointed as Main Man for the Helping Hand I'll set up an account, to which you can transfer money by means of a gift certificate.

I believe there's already an account setup for this.
Quote from Jeremys earlier post:

Quote:

Don't worry about finances folks - FM users simply send gift certificates to the account we have have set up for the purpose using the FastMail.FM web interface

Sherry

kander · 4 Jan 2004, 04:50 AM

I think you're right, Sherry

Thanks for pointing it out!

--K

**Sherry** · 4 Jan 2004, 04:57 AM

Quote:

Originally posted by kander
I think you're right, Sherry Thanks for pointing it out!

You're welcome. I do think Jeremy should have posted the address to send to while he was at it. When he reads this, he may do just that and the money may start rolling in.

Sherry

DianeB · 4 Jan 2004, 05:16 AM

Quote:

$3,50 will buy a member account (well, almost) because:

Person X donates $3,50.
Camner doubles this -> $7,00
Fastmail doubles this -> $14,00
Kander indirectly adds the remaining $.95, through the Helping Hand pool. -> $14,95

Thanks Kander!! Now I see exactly how Camner was arriving at his figure.

Quote:

That's at least 14 member accounts, and a bit for next round as well. Holy cow! People... I think you'd better start looking for someone who needs a member account, or we won't have enough applicants to give away to!

My sister immediately comes to mind, as she is in a bind, due to my BIL having heart attack & unable to work. However, if & when she decides which account she wants/needs, I have already told her (weeks ago), that I would take care of it for her. After all, that's what sister's do best----taking care of each other.

(I'm just bidding my time until my 2 teenage daughters figure this one out & hope the grey hair doesn't come in beforehand!!

)

I'm sure that along the way, current FM guests/members will find enough needy folks. If it comes to a point that there is more money than accounts needed, the money can always just sit there, until the next truly needy person comes along.

This is great!!

Diane

**JeffK** · 4 Jan 2004, 06:01 AM

I just sent something to Gerry. kander, it's not to be used for election funds!!!

(jolycu, are you the lady with the same surname as Roland?)

Jeff

(PS Aussie fastmailers, the $AU buys 76 US cents this morning (and 0.0001 US sense

). Time to put our hands up?)

(PPS Stormcrow have you an fm account yet?)

DianeB · 4 Jan 2004, 06:24 AM

Quote:

Originally posted by JeffK

I just sent something to Gerry. kander, it's not to be used for election funds!!!

Whose game to start a thread for election funds for Kander??

LOL

bitequator · 4 Jan 2004, 06:28 AM

I vote for any one of the above esteemed mods, or Jeremy/Rob, to serve as kander's campaign manager (to be entrusted with the bookkeeping for his election funds)

3 Jan 2004, 10:12 PM	#47
gpdoyon Moderator Join Date: Jan 2002 Location: Westbrook, Maine USA Posts: 462	Passing the baton... Hello Everyone! Wow, this thread sure has picked up some steam! For the past six months or so I've had my attention drawn away from the "Helping Hand Project". My goal, when this all started, was to donate one FastMail "Member" account to a needy member of the FastMail community. Some times it was very hard to determine who, out of dozens of solicitations for the free account, was the most needy. Here is how I did it. First, I'd post a message in the FastMail forum that we were accepting new requests for a free "Member" account for the month of January, for example. I'd ask that the person asking for the free account should tell me a little about their circumstances and tell me why they just can't afford to pay the amount required on their own. A lot of the stories was very touching. Some times it was very difficult to pick just one. At times it was also very easy to deny someone the opportunity to receive a free account. How? Some of the people asking for a free FastMail account would actually e-mail me using a non-FastMail e-mail account. Folks, if you are going to ask us for a premium e-mail account you should, at the very least, use the service that you are asking a help with! Oh, I almost forgot. I thinks it's best of the people who want to be considered for a free account should e-mail the "Helping Hand" people directly and not[ post their request here on the forums. After a very short amount of time it got a lot easier to give away free accounts to worthy people. The great folks at FastMail said that they'd like to help by giving the project matching funds. Wow!! So, at the end of the month I'd tally up the total dollar amount of donations I'd receive and send en e-mail to the FastMail guys. They would then send me a FastMail gift certificate for the matching funds. I was then usually able to donate at least two, often times three or more "Member" accounts because of all the generous FastMail members out here. You would not believe the good will and yes, love, that the people of these forums have for each other. People whom they have never met. Finally, as much as you'd like to praise the person(s) who have contributed to the project you MUST ask their permission before doing so. Once the month's account(s) have been awarded I'd let everyone know who the lucky people were and also share with you the people who wanted to be recognized for their generosity. I think that more than one person could help in determining which applicants are most deserving for a donated account but ultimately only one person should hold the money. I want to thank all of you (and you know how you are!) who donated to the FastMail "Helping Hand" project. You guys are the BEST!! I suspect that the person who will take my place will be announced in the next day or so. Gerry "Helping Hand"

3 Jan 2004, 10:07 PM	#46
bitequator The "e" in e-mail Join Date: Apr 2003 Location: USA Posts: 2,978	What a nice project to resurrect with the start of the new year. You have my vote too. All hail kander (I feel that JeffK is serious)

3 Jan 2004, 10:52 PM	#48
camner Cornerstone of the Community Join Date: Jul 2002 Location: Tacoma, WA Posts: 642	OK, I'd like to help get this "jump started" for Kander.... I will match, up to $50, any contributions to Helping Hand made within the next week (that is, by Monday, Jan. 3, 12:00 am GMT). And, since the FM gang matches funds as well, a contribution of $3.50 (if I do my math(s) right) will buy someone a membership. Now, just a vagrant thought... After reading about the Miami project (http://www.emaildiscussions.com/...threadid=14116), I'm wondering if there is anyway to have this project reach out beyond those who already have the means to hear about FM the usual way, which is to be somewhat net savvy and already have access to the net. I'm sure there are other efforts like the Miami project going on around the world...

3 Jan 2004, 11:23 PM	#49
JamesHenderson Cornerstone of the Community Join Date: Jan 2003 Location: Oxfordshire, UK Posts: 603	I'm probably going to hell for this, but I just can't resist... Mon 03-Jan is next ocurring in 2005 (today is the 3rd). Did you mean Mon-5 or Mon-12, 2004? he he he. James. I guess I should donate something now for that.

3 Jan 2004, 11:49 PM	#50
camner Cornerstone of the Community Join Date: Jul 2002 Location: Tacoma, WA Posts: 642	OK, so I can count to $15 but I can't keep track of what day it is ! I meant in the next week, so I guess that's Monday, Jan 12...Jeez, that's what I get for not being able to sleep and getting up too darn early and trying to think!

4 Jan 2004, 12:08 AM	#51
kander The "e" in e-mail Join Date: Jan 2002 Location: The Netherlands Posts: 4,112	Camner, That is so cool of you to do! Many thanks for your generosity. Also, many thanks to everyone who has shown his/her support here... I feel it's important to be backed by the community when taking something like this on... Gerry, I'd hereby like to formally, offically and technically apply for the position of new Helping Hand Administrator. The ball's in your court now. --K

4 Jan 2004, 03:50 AM	#53
kander The "e" in e-mail Join Date: Jan 2002 Location: The Netherlands Posts: 4,112	Hey Diane, If, or more likely, when, I am appointed as Main Man for the Helping Hand I'll set up an account, to which you can transfer money by means of a gift certificate. Lemme do some math here... Diane donates $59,80 no restrictions at all (that's 4 Member accounts). Then Camner comes along and doubles it, up to $50. We've got $109,80 now. Add to that any donations by others. Then Fastmail doubles it again, leading to $219,60 + all donations by others doubled. That's at least 14 member accounts, and a bit for next round as well. Holy cow! People... I think you'd better start looking for someone who needs a member account, or we won't have enough applicants to give away to! $3,50 will buy a member account (well, almost) because: Person X donates $3,50. Camner doubles this -> $7,00 Fastmail doubles this -> $14,00 Kander indirectly adds the remaining $.95, through the Helping Hand pool. -> $14,95 I can imagine people having questions that they perhaps are hesitant to post on these forums in public... if you do, you can always drop me a line at helpinghand AT kander DOT promessage DOT com - Nothing discussed through private mail will be made public. --K

4 Jan 2004, 04:50 AM	#55
kander The "e" in e-mail Join Date: Jan 2002 Location: The Netherlands Posts: 4,112	I think you're right, Sherry Thanks for pointing it out! --K

4 Jan 2004, 06:01 AM	#58
JeffK Moderator Join Date: Feb 2002 Location: Kingaroy, AU Posts: 3,179	I just sent something to Gerry. kander, it's not to be used for election funds!!! (jolycu, are you the lady with the same surname as Roland?) Jeff (PS Aussie fastmailers, the $AU buys 76 US cents this morning (and 0.0001 US sense ). Time to put our hands up?) (PPS Stormcrow have you an fm account yet?)

4 Jan 2004, 06:28 AM	#60
bitequator The "e" in e-mail Join Date: Apr 2003 Location: USA Posts: 2,978	I vote for any one of the above esteemed mods, or Jeremy/Rob, to serve as kander's campaign manager (to be entrusted with the bookkeeping for his election funds)