Monthly Goal:
USD $4,500
Total Raised:
USD $38,569
Raised this month:
USD $1,080
Campaign funds will be received by Jeanne Immaculata
We are fundraising for our friend who is suffering from a severe autoimmune disorder called PANS/PANDAS. Though it is most studied in children, there are several documented cases in adults - such as in the case with our friend.
It starts after an infection (frequently Strep A) manages to trigger a grossly overreactive immune response from the body. The immune system starts to mistake the body's own cells as the enemy, and specifically targets the Basal Ganglia of the brain. Essentially, at least when the initial infection is Strep, it is very similar to Rheumatic Fever--except that the tissue targeted by the immune system is the brain, versus the heart.
The result? Depending on the person, it causes either sudden, extremely debilitating OCD symptoms or extreme restrictive eating disorder. Frequently, the onset of these is overnight.
At the same time, the patient rapidly develops motor/vocal tics, extreme and scary emotions, sleep dysregulation, sensory processing issues, violent and difficult to control movements, chronic joint and muscle pain, extreme fatigue... the list goes on. It is completely and totally debilitating. For our friend, even walking through a room and understanding where everything is in space around her is extremely difficult.
It's not a well-known disease. So, for the first 2 of the 3 years she has had this, she was misdiagnosed as having a severe case of PTSD and other psychological issues.
Last summer of 2023, one of us, her friends, stumbled upon the condition, and everything finally started to click.
She is now being treated by a reputable doctor with experience working with PANS/PANDAS patients. But, her basic needs (food, medication, transportation, etc.) have been so consistently unmet that it has been impossible to make substantial progress--even to make it to important doctor appointments. This has physically and mentally broken her down to the point where she is no longer able to work or pursue her professional/academic career.
She does not have family support, and has not been receiving the support she needs from others for the past 3 years.
What is most needed are consistent, monthly donations, preferably committed for the next year. (Through July 1st, 2025) We understand that not many are in a position to give much on a monthly basis, but, consistency over the long run is much more important than receiving several large donations up front and then having nothing to go off of after that.
In order to still meet the monthly goal then, with smaller donation amounts, we will need a larger number of donors, and so, we NEED HELP bringing this fundraiser to the attention of others who might be willing to either give themselves, or pass it along to people they know. Please help with this if you can, even if only a little!!
The amount reflected in the monthly goal amount accounts for Rent, Medical needs, Utilities, etc. Specific urgent needs will be listed and updated over time below this main description.
Urgent Need June 2024:
Our friend has been unable to pay rent consistently, and, after a year of ups and downs in this regard, is now being evicted by the 26th of June.
We have been using this Givesendgo page for about a year, but, unfortunately, at the beginning of this new year of 2024, we lost several donors who had committed on a monthly basis, and we weren't able to pull things together sooner to recover them. (We assume they had committed through January)
We need to gather enough monthly donors to meet the monthly fundraising goal for the next 12 month lease period. ( Until July 1st, 2025)
The landlord is torn and very sensitive to the situation but needs to provide for his own young family--the recent + historical inconsistency in her being able to pay has not supported that, and he can't continue to keep her at her home with it always being a question month to month of if he will have the income or not. If we are able to recruit enough consistent, recurring monthly donors RIGHT NOW, for a 12-month period, there is a chance that she will be allowed to stay, but our window of time is shrinking. (Technically we had "a couple days" to do this...a couple days ago.)
If you could please keep this in prayer that would mean so much to her. Thank you. <3
"Beneath your protection,
We take refuge, O Mother of God:
do not despise our petitions in time of trouble:
but rescue us from dangers,
only pure, only blessed one."
God bless you!
This will be a monthly donation. You are also always in my prayers! ♥️
Praying for healing.
January 23rd, 2025
Hi there, with the new year we are trying to evaluate how many consistent monthly donors we still have and at what amounts, so that we can gauge how much more we need to plan to raise to fill in the gaps for rent and the other expenses. (GiveSendGo doesnt show us how long people are committing for when they do commit monthly)
We are sending out emails with a super short (3 question) survey about that individually to people who have already donated. So check your inboxes/spam folders! We made an email address for it to make it easier for us to manage logistically (there's a group of us trying to organize things), as well as for recognizability. So just a heads up!
God bless
December 27th, 2024
Thanks be to God, our friend has a new home. 🙏🏽
However, the moving was extremely rough on her brain (and the rest of her body) and she is struggling to recover right now. Please, please pray for her. The fact that her symptoms keep getting worse and not better, is scaring her.
Moving also cost a LOT, financially. For example, our friend can't physically lift and maneuver things as quickly anymore as other people can, and so she had to rent a u-haul for several days vs just one, since she doesn't have her own car.
Because of this and the costs of getting a new place to stay, she has been forced to rack up hundreds of dollars in new debts to several people over these past several weeks of the moving ordeal. We still need to raise that difference. And pay rent for January.
We still need a LOT of help gaining more monthly donors to assist not only with covering these extra expenses, but to ensure that she has enough coming in every month to meet expenses.
That's why *monthly* donations are so critical, and since most people can't reasonably give a large amount every month, it's imperative that we find *more* people, so that the smaller amounts can add up.
As we approach the new year, maintaining a sufficient number of donors is top priority. (We still have not met our goal with recurring donors)
Lots of times, people sign up for monthly giving and have it end after Dec. 31st, since that's a nice clean ending date.
The problem is, if lots of people do that, then suddenly our friend has dramatically reduced support come January, and struggles to meet rent costs. (Not to mention everything else.) That's what happened in January 2024, and that is what primarily caused her landlord to start being especially uncomfortable with keeping her on as a tenant.
If you are already giving monthly and it is set to end this December, please consider giving for another year! Even if you have to reduce the amount you give, all amounts are appreciated.
(*If you are re-starting a monthly commitment, could you also email us and let us know when your monthly commitment is scheduled to end? That way we can plan for the loss of funds. Thanks!)
Very Important: Whether or not you are personally giving monthly, could you please ask some friends if they can help you spread awareness of this cause??
This means simply telling them you are following a campaign for someone in need, and asking them if they could help you by telling others about it and passing on the link.
Even that simple action helps this move forward to land in the laps of those people who God is calling to give financially.
Our friend desperately needs more intensive medical attention, but unlike most pandas patients, she is not a kid, and has to manage all of these grownup problems like housing, utilities, finances, transportation etc. We are trying to stabilize/put out these "fires" around her, so that she can focus on seeking treatment.
When she has to worry about trying to be able to afford basic living needs, and whether or not she is going to be kicked out of her house, she can't focus on what is highest priority for her right now--medical help.
Again, she is watching symptoms progress, not get better. We can't keep moving slowly. We need your help to reach more people.
PLEASE, help us help her.
Thank you 🙏
November 19th, 2024
Hello! Recently our friend received some rough news. After all of the ups and downs, difficulties paying rent, it isn't too unexpected. Her landlord wants her to move out, and this time it is for sure.
She is trying to find somewhere new to go right now. One place she has found looks like it would actually fit her needs perfectly, and it seems as though Jesus is pointing that direction. However, the biggest obstacle is finances.
We have so far not met our monthly goal of $4,500. In order to settle accounts with her out-going landlord, and to secure this new place, we NEED to reach if not SURPASS that goal IMMEDIATELY.
Please help pass this along to other people--you don't have to ask them to donate, just ask them to pass it along. Jesus will ask them to donate Himself if He wants to.
Awareness is key. Please pray for our friend right now.
Thank you!!!
November 19th, 2024
Belated Update on our friend
Hi all, we apologize for not being able to provide any updates sooner.
Medical:
Our friend and her doctors are still trying to figure out exactly what form of the disease she has and how to best treat it. From last November 2023 to about June 2024, they tried out several antibiotics, nsaids, and prednisone to see if there would be any improvement. None so far.
One thing they are also investigating in the middle of all of this, is what seems to be some sort of deep sinus(?) infection that has been present for the past 2 years. It came on about a year into the pans/pandas, so it wasn't the cause. But, this could nevertheless be interacting with the PANS/PANDAS.
So the doctor has ordered some different forms of testing, including a sinus CT, and neuropsychological evaluation, to get more information while determining what the next steps should be.
Currently, she is on a medication break (i.e. no antibiotics/other drugs at present). Recently, she has also successfully discontinued the SSRI she was put on when she was misdiagnosed as having *only* PTSD. She and her psychiatrist are monitoring that situation closely to ensure that no negative effects occur, but so far, no significant difference has been noted.
Vehicle:
Last spring, just before midterms week, her car broke down irreversibly.
This prevented her from being able to commute to her university, and she failed her courses. This resulted in her dismissal from the school.
This was crushing for her, as she had been working very, very hard to keep up after finally returning successfully to school the semester prior (Fall 2023). When she first became sick after the infection in July of 2021, she tried to stay in school, but ultimately had to drop out. She attempted a return in the Fall of 2022, but did not successfully make it through a semester until Fall 2023. So the fact that she has put so much effort into this, only made the loss that much more impactful.
Again, the whole reason she failed is that she no longer had a way to make the hour long drive to school.
This is not the only way that losing her car has impacted her. She has also repeatedly been unable to make it to very important doctor appointments, or receive various kinds of necessary medical testing, because she is at the mercy of those who can give her rides to such things. All of this is understandably putting her treatment "on hold", so to speak.
Of course, this is all not to mention the fact that she is also unable to go to the store or other places that she needs to, whenever she needs to. Physically, because of the fact that her condition manifests frequently in unpredictable flare-ups, she often wears herself to the breaking point trying to be ready by whatever times potential "rides" are able to take her. If she had her own vehicle, she would be able to go when she is feeling strong enough to, rather than hoping that matches up with when someone else is willing or able to take her.
Cars aren't cheap. We need to be able to meet the stated monthly goal, every month, in order to NOT ONLY pay for her rent, bills, medical/living expenses, but ALSO to be able to manage to be able to afford a vehicle that is not going to die on her right after she gets it.
The BIGGEST thing you can do to help with this, as always, is to pass this fundraiser along to some of your own friends, asking them to pass it along to some of theirs. NOTE: This does not mean asking your friends to donate. This means asking them to pass it along for the sake of awareness.
If Jesus is calling someone to donate, He will put it on their heart himself. Our job is to get awareness of this campaign out there for people to *see*.
There will be new updates coming tomorrow, as some sad news has recently been had. We will explain more then, but she needs emergency financial assistance *right now*. Our friend is praying for you all. Thank you for your prayers for her and for us while we work to organize the support she needs, both with respect to physical tasks, and here, financially, with this fundraiser.
God bless you.
November 16th, 2024
Hi all, we apologize for not being able to provide any updates sooner.
Medical:
Our friend and her doctors are still trying to figure out exactly what form of the disease she has and how to best treat it. From last November 2023 to about June 2024, they tried out several antibiotics, nsaids, and a steroid to see if there would be any improvement. None so far.
One thing they are also investigating in the middle of all of this, is what seems to be some sort of deep sinus(?) infection that has been present for the past 2 years. It came on about a year into the pans/pandas, so it wasn't the cause. But, this could nevertheless be interacting with the PANS/PANDAS.
So the doctor has ordered some different forms of testing, including a sinus CT, and neuropsychological evaluation, to get more information while determining what the next steps should be.
Currently, she is on a medication break (i.e. no antibiotics/other drugs at present). Recently, she has also successfully discontinued the SSRI she was put on when she was misdiagnosed as having *only* PTSD. She and her psychiatrist are monitoring that situation closely to ensure that no negative effects occur, but so far, no significant difference has been noted.
Vehicle:
Last spring, just before midterms week, her car broke down irreversibly.
This prevented her from being able to commute to her university, and she failed her courses. This resulted in her dismissal from the school.
This was crushing for her, as she had been working very, very hard to keep up after finally returning successfully to school the semester prior (Fall 2023). When she first became sick after the infection in July of 2021, she tried to stay in school, but ultimately had to drop out. She attempted a return in the Fall of 2022, but did not successfully make it through a semester until Fall 2023. So the fact that she has put so much effort into this, only made the loss that much more impactful.
Again, the whole reason she failed is that she no longer had a way to make the hour long drive to school.
This is not the only way that losing her car has impacted her. She has also repeatedly been unable to make it to very important doctor appointments, or receive various kinds of necessary medical testing, because she is at the mercy of those who can give her rides to such things. All of this is understandably putting all of her aforementioned treatment "on hold", so to speak.
Of course, this is all not to mention the fact that she is also unable to go to the store or other places that she needs to, whenever she needs to. Physically, because of the fact that her condition manifests frequently in unpredictable flare-ups, she often wears herself to the breaking point trying to be ready by whatever times potential "rides" are able to take her. If she had her own vehicle, she would be able to go when she is feeling strong enough to, rather than hoping that matches up with when someone else is willing or able to take her.
Cars aren't cheap. We need to be able to meet the stated monthly goal, every month, in order to NOT ONLY pay for her rent, bills, medical/living expenses, but ALSO to be able to manage to be able to afford a vehicle that is not going to die on her right after she gets it.
The BIGGEST thing you can do to help with this, as always, is to pass this fundraiser along to some of your own friends, asking them to pass it along to some of theirs. NOTE: This does not mean asking your friends to donate. A lot of people seem to think that's what it means, and get nervous about it. This means asking them to pass it along for the sake of awareness.
If Jesus is calling someone to donate, He will put it on their heart himself. Our job is to get awareness of this campaign out there for people to *see*.
There will be new updates coming tomorrow, as some sad news has recently been had. We will explain more then, but suffice to say that she needs emergency financial assistance *right now*. Our friend is praying for you all. Thank you for your prayers for her and for us while we work to organize the support she needs, both with respect to physical tasks, and here, financially, with this fundraiser.
God bless you.
November 16th, 2024
Hi! Update--because of our friend's need for anonymity, when we originally set up this campaign we had to do it in a way such that the funds were sent to one of our own bank accounts instead of hers (and then we would pass it along to her from there), because GiveSendGo would have published her legal name if we had used her own bank account.
We spoke with GiveSendGo recently and found that they could change things so that it would go directly to our friend's bank account but the "Recipient" displayed would be a pseudonym for her. We have just set this up, and she is going to be referred to as "Jeanne Immaculata."
So, if you see the name change and are confused, this campaign is still for the same person, we promise!! Thank you so much to Melissa Longua for graciously putting in the effort to both create this campaign and manage the donations for so long. <3
June 19th, 2024
Our friend has been unable to pay rent consistently, and, after a year of ups and downs in this regard, is now being evicted by the 26th of June.
We have been using this Givesendgo page for about a year, but, unfortunately, at the beginning of this new year of 2024, we lost several donors who had committed on a monthly basis, and we weren't able to pull things together sooner to recover them. (We assume they had committed through January)
We need to gather enough monthly donors to meet the monthly fundraising goal for the next 12 month lease period. ( Until July 1st, 2025)
The landlord is torn and very sensitive to the situation but needs to provide for his own young family--the recent + historical inconsistency in her being able to pay has not supported that, and he can't continue to keep her at her home with it always being a question month to month of if he will have the income or not. If we are able to recruit enough consistent, recurring monthly donors RIGHT NOW, for a 12-month period, there is a chance that she will be allowed to stay, but our window of time is shrinking. (Technically we had "a couple days" to do this...a couple days ago.)
If you could please keep this in prayer that would mean so much to her. Thank you. <3
"Beneath your protection,
We take refuge, O Mother of God:
do not despise our petitions in time of trouble:
but rescue us from dangers,
only pure, only blessed one."
June 19th, 2024
Hi an update about the GiveSendGo platform—
A couple days ago we tried to shift everything over to the GoFundMe platform for several reasons.
One is that, since the beginning, we have experienced some different glitches with the GiveSendGo platform. It occasionally knocks people off as recurring donors, who had signed up to be such. Sometimes it just hasn't allowed some people to donate at all in the first place.
We knew we had lost a number of monthly donors in January of 2024 (we assume they had committed gifts till the beginning of the new year), and so since we were at this time (June 2024) going to have to essentially reach back out to and find all of those previous donors to ask if they could commit again or share the page, we started to consider the possibility of it being a good time to switch to a different platform.
We had considered GoFundMe for a while due to its greater recognizability to the general public, and the fact that we saw it allows there to be a pseudonym for the recipient. (Up till now with the GiveSendGo, we have had to set it to send funds to Melissa’s bank account for her to then forward to the actual recipient, as protecting the recipient’s anonymity is of top priority, and GiveSendGo required that the legal name associated with the connected bank account be displayed publicly.)
We created a GoFundMe page yesterday and within 24 hours have raised a significant amount to help our friend. (Thank you!!!) However, we realized shortly after making it and sharing the link for that new page, that the GoFundMe platform does not have a way to do committed monthly donations for individuals. (I guess they will for organizations but not for individuals)
Because, as we have repeatedly stressed, consistency and predictability in funds is so important, and because that aspect in particular is critical to our friend’s landlord being willing to keep her on (If we can show him that we have the next 12 months guaranteed to pay rent with), we have decided it is probably wisest to switch back to GiveSendGo. We sincerely apologize for any confusion this all may have caused! Luckily, we also just discovered that there is a way to connect her bank account directly to the GiveSendGo page, but have it display an alias for her name. We still have to finalize that process though. Ultimately, it will be the recipient’s art name, “Jeanne Immaculata.” We will also be using the opportunity to update and edit the campaign page, while hopefully keeping it recognizable enough as we transition! A lot has changed over time with the advent of new diagnoses, treatment, etc. for our friend…
So, in case you were wondering why you seemed to have double vision, that’s why! 😊
We will be keeping the GoFundMe up in case someone does not find the GiveSendGo but finds that instead, as we have already disseminated that link. But, we will be trying to update everyone that it was sent to about our transition back to GiveSendGo.
A huge thank you from our friend!! She is grateful and prays for you, and asks for your prayers too as it is hard sometimes to be in this place of reliance on others’ generosity.
For reference, here is the old description of this GiveSendGo page!
**OLD PAGE DESCRIPTION** -- updated 6/19/24
A dear friend is fighting to receive healing from PTSD and other serious undiagnosed medical issues. These crosses have severely depleted her physical abilities and resources. She is in the process of pursuing her recovery after an over 2-year battle with this. We want to help her keep being the shining light and compassionate servant she has been in the lives of her friends and everyone she meets.
In this time of healing, she is in need of aid through the generosity of others to help provide for immediate monthly needs:
*Rent cost
*Utilities not already/fully covered by assistance
*Gas (especially for commuting to school which she has just re-started)
*Replacement car (current car is falling apart and not safe. Some places donate cars, but with potential smaller fees.)
*Medical bills
*Treatment/therapy costs
*Food not covered by foodstamps
*Medicines
*Other outstanding bills
*College expenses not covered by grants/scholarships
It is vital for her that these needs are met with consistency and reliability during this time of recovery, so we are aiming for coverage through December 2023 to start with, in the hopes that over that time period, especially as she returns to university this fall, a more stable financial situation may be achieved.
For recovery to take place, what the doctors and therapists have repeatedly emphasized is that the MOST important thing is to have her basic needs met--they are not currently being met consistently. She's grown physically weak in many areas and can't keep up like she used to.
Being sick costs money. Her inpatient hospital stay alone (when her physical symptoms got out of control last Fall) was only a week and a half long, and costed over $100,000. She has to monitor her diet, and generally be careful with how much her body and nervous system can take on a given day. That can mean higher costs. She needs various supplies and medications.
Most of all, she needs to have the stability of staying in her apartment and not having to move yet again.
We, her friends, need your help. We cannot do this on our own. Because this is an ongoing situation while she sees specialists and tries to find diagnoses and treatment, we need a way to help her meet these needs with consistency and predictability. (Her landlord needs that too.)
We have had one-time donations, but we have found that those tend to be just that--one time, and typically of a larger size, which is harder on the donor's wallet. By the next month, it is harder to find donations because of this.
So we're switching it up, and asking PLEASE to transition if it is possible to pledged monthly gifts of smaller amounts. Like, we're talking $5-$25 a month, or whatever you feel called to if you can afford more, for the next 3 months, rather than breaking your bank and her being left without consistency.
She has a deadline of tonight (9/15/23) from her landlord to meet certain conditions to renew her lease, otherwise he will start showing prospective tenants tomorrow. He is a good guy, but he needs proof of consistent ability to pay rent over this next 3 month period at least (he wants to start with just a 3 month lease), as well as immediate payment of her past due rent (approx $3000), and a co-signer.
He gave her this deadline a few days ago, the thing is, she had already felt convicted and called by the Lord, not long before then, to include a link to her neighbors' GiveSendGo on her own page, and to ask that donations given to her would be split in half and given to them. They are an incredibly sweet family that has gone through some of the worst experiences you can imagine, over the last several months since March. One event was the dad being in a severe truck accident that almost killed him, which prompted them to make the fund page. (https://www.givesendgo.com/GADBK )
However, there has been little to no donor activity on their pages, and so they, like her, are facing potential eviction in the very near future if they cannot catch up on their mortgage payments.
Our friend loves the Plunketts as though they were family, and has been consistently blown away and inspired by there own generosity in the midst of their poverty. She can't fathom seeking and finding help to prevent eviction for herself, while watching them go through the same struggle without any support. She has really felt convicted to both spread awareness of their page and subsequently share donors with them.
This means that if a donor is reached by this page, they will also have access to the Plunkett's page, and from there she requests that if a donor feels that they can contribute a gift of a particular amount (example: $2month), then rather than donating the whole $20 to her, they halve that amount, and donate $1mo to her and $1mo to the Plunketts.
Obviously this will mean it will take more donors to raise for both of them! Not to mention the smaller amounts necessitating it as well. So if you are donating, or even if you are not, you help immensely by showing this page to friends, particularly if they can also share!
Thank you for your generous donations and prayers for this friend, and for being the hands and feet of Christ in this small way for her!
January 12th, 2024
October 25th, 2023
Hi everyone!
I want to extend a (belated) thank you to everyone who spread my campaign, donated to me, or prayed for me. Having the security for the first time in months, that I know where my rent is coming from is a huge stress relief that allows me to better focus on what I need to do to get better. Thank you so much. <3 I am praying for all of you and for your intentions as well.
My thank you is late because honestly, the pressure and stress involved for me in trying to find friends to spread this page far enough to raise the necessary funds--as we were doing just over a month ago--it really took a toll on me. I have been trying since then to recover mentally and physically, while also balancing midterms (!!).
Frankly, another huge stressor for me is my concern for my next door neighbors who I have been referring you to, Chris, Michelle, and Sophia Plunkett.
Like I was, they are in danger of losing their home this month. (For them, in foreclosure)
Unlike me, They have received nowhere near the amount of support that I have, despite the fact that their need is more than 5 times greater, and far more dire.
Because I can only spread their page to so many people, I am RELYING on the kindness of others to bring awareness to their page and their immense need. It is quite safe to say that the Plunketts are reliant on this too. Sadly, any attempts they have made to advocate for their own Givesendgo have resulted in a near-suffocating silence from the world outside.
For those of you who have missed any of my previous updates where I explained their situation, here is a brief summary:
At the end of March of this year, 2023, Chris was in a severe truck accident and only barely survived on account of being physically one inch further from what would have been death on impact.
Some weeks prior, they had just taken in Michelle's grandmother, and her grandmother's son, Uncle Bill, who has suffered from complications of a brain aneurysm years ago, and needs to live with someone who can help him. Shortly after that, her grandmother passed away suddenly. The accident was two weeks after that.
Sophia's birthday was days after the accident. (And very shortly after that, her little pet died unexpectedly.)
I had just gotten to know the family right before all of this, and had at that time learned of Michelle's own serious medical history. Lupus. Cancer. Fibromyalgia. Stomach surgery a year and a half ago that nearly cost her life. A 100% blockage of her superior vena cava that she was somehow still walking around on. The list goes on. This is by no means their first taste of suffering. They are all dealing with their own individual and collective traumas at this point. Their extended family is also suffering greatly in similar ways.
The docs said Chris might never walk again. Within a matter of months, he managed to get on his feet. He's now walking, with a very stinkin' cool walking stick, despite the initial predictions, but he still has a long way to go--and while he goes through therapy for his injuries, with resultant outcomes too far in the future to guess at, there's no telling what an eventual source of income may be for them. Returning to being a CDL truck driver after such a horrific experience...that's not really even a possibility to think about.
Regardless of future financial concerns--they are now $20,000 behind on their mortgage, AND past the due date to avoid foreclosure, which was October 13th. (Yes, pray all those Rosaries. BVM of Fatima Pray for us!)
His worker's compensation checks have been hit or miss. Sometimes they arrive, sometimes they don't. Legally, because he supposedly "has" those, and because Michelle only just started receiving her disability income again, they collectively "make too much" to receive various utility/other assistance available to most people. (like the CAP program for electricity, for example.) This is, of course, notwithstanding the fact that their combined "income" is barely over $1,800, which doesn't even cover their mortgage payment, not to mention cost of living and caring for Sophia.
My story of the past two years has been enough to make anyone's jaw drop, after only hearing of the first few months. Notwithstanding: I have been dumbstruck by everything they are going through.
Sometimes it seems like every other week, there's an ambulance outside. Someone else going to the hospital for who knows how long.
Only a few weeks ago, that was Michelle. For a minute there, it looked like we were going to lose her.
I could keep going on about the fraud they have experienced, the red-tape headaches, that time in June when their fridge stopped working in the heat of the summer and they lost an entire freezer full of food, how they were pickpocketed this week and Michelle's phone was stolen and finally located all the way in New York, how their hot water tank exploded two days ago, Uncle Bill’s seizure yesterday...and so many other things I can't even remember right now. Michelle is actually being admitted to the hospital again as we speak.
Would you believe me if I told you that THIS SAME FAMILY still tries to bear it all with a smile, laugh with each other, keep up good spirits, and share what little time, energy, and resources they have with others in need??
I can't tell you how many times Michelle has gone out of her way to check on ME.
They keep praying and giving their situation to God. They are fighting to maintain their faith in Him right now--and are fighting bravely, and well.
I mentioned while primarily spreading my Givesendgo, how important it was for me to have the gift of stability right now. In Psychology, we refer to Maslow's "hierarchy of needs." A sense of "Home", and "Security" is at the most basic levels of this hierarchy.
Amidst the chaos, they were finally able to help Sophia finish setting up her bedroom. When I watched her the next day as she ran around it, excitedly showing me everything, where it belonged, what each space was for, I was struck with how crucially important that space, that haven--where everything goes where it's supposed to--is for her psychological and emotional health right now, while she struggles to navigate this intense time as the brave little kid she is.
Please. Keep that space safe for her right now.
If there is any way that you are able to tell other people who you know about the Plunketts, what they are going through, and why they need help--that is truly and sincerely the most important concrete step you can make right now. Prayer is the most important thing.
There are individuals out there who Christ is calling to be His Hands and Feet as he delivers them from this torment. When they hear the message, it will resound for them. And they will know what to do. Your job and mine right now, is to make that message known. To share it in love, and to water it with prayer.
Besides the $20,000 that they need to raise to save their house (the bank refuses to accept it in installments, and is trying to force them to pay it all in one lump sum.), after talking with Michelle, we determined that if they could find enough committed donors to pledge enough recurring monthly amounts to meet a monthly goal of $4,000, they think they could get by on that for the time being. (That is of course, after their overdue mortgage is raised/paid for)
My plan initially was to keep sharing my page, which includes the link to theirs, and continue to request that ANYONE who feels called to give to me would first split their gift to me in half and give the other half to this family. As it stands, my own monthly goal of recurring gifts (totalling at $3,800) has not yet been reached. I do have enough recurring donors to cover my rent, but I still do not have enough to cover my other living expenses, including potential upcoming expensive treatment costs.
In fact, the Plunketts themselves told me that they wanted also to ask their donors to split their gifts to them with me, just like I am asking you guys to do for them. Recognizing though that their network is far more limited than mine, and their financial need much larger, I really think that we should primarily focus on spreading awareness about their Givesendgo. And then,whatever donations *do* come to me on account of their donors splitting a donation with me, would likely accumulate on my page to roughly equal the amount necessary to adequately meet the remaining $2,000ish of my own $3,800 monthly goal. (*I have found that when asked to split, it seems a very small percentage of donors actually does end up splitting the donations, potentially because of unclear instructions on my end, or because I had at one point volunteered to do it manually myself for the donor, which I think now has honestly become too much for me to handle.)
THANK YOU for your attention in reading this post. Please tell whoever you can about the Plunkett’s need and ask them to tell others. We need prayer. Again, we are really just sending the call out to whoever it is that the Lord is bringing to the plate here. So in that respect, person-to-person conversations are way more “realistic” than hitting share on facebook (though you can do that too!). Just tell your own everyday friends etc, ask them to spread it too. That’s all that’s needed.
Peace be with you, and may the Lord bless and keep you always.
Thank you for everything. Your assistance right now has meant so much to me and made such a huge difference in my life. <3 Will likely follow up with an update on my health soon.
<3
Your sister in Christ
Plunkett GiveSendGo Link: https://www.givesendgo.com/GADBK
September 17th, 2023
Hi! thanks so much everyone, really...we are almost there for covering rent (though other expenses are not covered on a monthly basis yet)
We have so far been able to raise $3500 this month. It's a combo of one time gifts and monthly pledges.
A good amount of that was raised much earlier this month, before the landlord had instituted the deadline, and was thus used for basic needs, medical expenses, bills, etc. So the amount raised of $3500 right now does not accurately reflect what has been raised for landlord expenses over the past couple of days.
The $3500 raised so far this month (Sept) can be broken down into three chunks as such:
(pardon me for not having the exact numbers for everything on hand)
1. a decent chunk given earlier this month, which was used almost immediately to pay for pressing expenses, as enumerated above
2. another chunk (along with some $ that were directly sent to our friend outside of the GiveSendGo platform) which was designated towards paying back past due amounts to the landlord. (This debt has been paid, thank you!!!)
3. a final amount ($1028 specifically) that represents a sum total of pledged recurring donations.
It is this final amount of recurring donations that requires attention--$245 more in total pledges are needed to cover the monthly rent cost of where the apartment is at.
The Campaign Goal was set to account for a sum total of recurring monthly donations equivalent to that amount ($3500) which was meant to cover the $1273 rent, the other utilities not included in rent, and the other expenses listed in the main campaign description.
All that being said, what is needed *today* is the total of $245 more from recurring donations--pledged today to provide as proof for landlord. The rest of the $3500 minus rent (which amounts to $2227) should also be raised in the form of recurring payments so as to provide consistency in funding for her other monthly needs, besides just rent, but that amount can be fundraised more gradually over the next month; It is not needed exclusively by the end of today.
The Landlord has been gracious and canceled showings of the apartment, in sight of these conditions being met. Thank you for your prayers.
To hopefully help ease some confusion, the monthly goal amount has been edited to reflect a higher need amounting to approximately the $245 just referenced. That way potential donors today dont get confused when looking at it and think the fundraising is complete. (When they see $3500 our of $3500. They will see $350 out of $3800.)
Peace be with you
September 17th, 2023
Hi!!
Just a reminder that part of the landlord's conditions for me keeping my apartment is proof of definite income to cover rent for the next three months!
This means something critical:
The amount raised so far ($1284? I forget the exact amount) is AMAZING and can be used to cover past due rent that needs to be paid up front (Tonight.), BUT--looking at the stats, only about $371 of that amount is listed as a recurring gift, which won't meet his criteria for proof to also be given to him TONIGHT.
As you are sharing, please, please emphasize to your friends that we *NEED* recurring donations totalling at least $1273/month, through December 2023, in order to present it as proof to him today!!
THANK you so much!!
Please also split your donations to the Plunketts manually if you could, so that the "Total Raised" displays an accurate amount (and so I dont have to soet through and manually split things on my own.)
Peace be with you.
April 22nd, 2023
April 4th, 2023
Thank you all for your generosity in donating, sharing, and praying! We reached the deadline for her rent payments with a little to spare for some other basic needs. In a few days I will update this to be a monthly fundraiser so that we can continue to support my friend over the coming months as she continues to work on healing. Thank you again and God bless!
April 1st, 2023
****Same update as the first one, but clarified a little. Sorry for any confusion!****
Hi everyone-- this is an update from the actual recipient of this fund (Melissa's friend)
Thank you all SO much for the donations and prayers thus far!! I was able to raise enough for one month’s rent last night, and now I have one more rent payment due today, April 1st. I do have other serious financial needs, but still having a house is the most important thing right now.
If you are discerning whether or not to donate to my campaign, I’d like to ask you to prayerfully consider donating half of what you would have sent to me to help out my friends and neighbors, the Plunkett family. The father, Chris, was recently in a serious truck accident on March 27th. I believe it is no coincidence that both of our crowdfunding pages started less than 24h apart from each other.
If you have already donated to my fund, thank you so much!! Could you please still consider sharing the Plunkett's campaign with others, as well? Chris’ wife, Michelle, said that he is in a "step-down" ICU as of today.
Link to support Plunkett Family:
https://gofund.me/3a63f34e
Praised be Jesus! (And please pray for my landlord and landlord's family too!) God is GOOD!
Click the Pray button to let the campaign owner know you are praying for them.