When any of our family thinks about our oldest sister Char, the first thing that comes to mind is that she is a really great grandmother. She's happier as a grandmother than she's ever been in her entire life. She faced some challenges from a very early age and growing up was just not easy...but her three grandchildren truly bring a smile to her face. Every Fall, Char rounds up her family for a Christmas photo, (sometimes kicking and screaming) which includes the grand-dogs if there are any, of course! She saves throughout the year for the cards and stamps it takes to get those cards to friends and family. Her Christmas card and family photo are always one of the first we receive because she's so proud of her family and they truly are the core of her life.

Unfortunately, for some time, our sister has lived at an income level that leaves a person at a loss as to how to go on trying to make ends meet, knowing they never will. The money she receives allows her to pay rent and utilities. Groceries are secondary and there's nothing left for extras like, fun. Many of us take paying our bills on time and staying out of debt for granted. (How many of us think twice about the cost of a stamp when sending Christmas cards?) Although we may have stressors in our lives, knowing we will never get out from under our mounting debt may not be one of them. When you're not able to 'pay off' a bill, it's pretty hard to save for something else. Although she doesn't complain very often, when she does talk about her financial troubles, it's because something hits really hard, like now.

Our sister really needs some extensive dental work, which includes extractions and full dentures. She does have an old partial which gives her some top teeth, but unfortunately, she recently lost the one top front tooth she had. If you've ever seen anyone with a missing front tooth, you've probably seen how devastating this can be to a person's confidence. None of this is due to her lack of trying. She's always tried to take care of her teeth, she was just cursed from the start with bad teeth and has dealt with this for a long time. Over the years, she's actually put a lot of money into trying to save her teeth, but it just hasn't worked out for her. The photo included in this campaign is with her partials and was taken before the loss of the most recent tooth. She has 4 teeth left on the top and 7 on the bottom, so chewing is hard and many teeth over the years have caused her extensive pain.

Char does not have vacations, (including visiting her siblings in other states), shopping is done at the Dollar store, and minimally, there's no eating out that doesn't include a coupon; and coupons are a necessity in many aspects of her life. Her diet is not the best it could be, not just from the cost of food, but also the lack of ability to be able to chew.

Being single and living in a small apartment by herself, she's gotten used to her privacy, but she is the first to help her sons with the grandchildren and the first to assist our Dad and Aunts and Uncles with anything they need. Her willingness to help anytime is so valuable to the family, since she's the only one of us in the area to be able to offer that assistance. Many times, they'll need to give her gas money in order for her to take them to their appointments, but if they need a ride and her vehicle is running, she's there for them!

Char's debt, built up from living on such a meager means for so long and never being able to catch up, would prevent her from getting a loan to assist her with this dental cost. I know she considers filing for bankruptcy because she knows she's in an endless loop of debt. I'm not sure I'd even have the heart to talk her out of doing that, even though that action would bring a host of other problems and she'd be ashamed if she actually went through with it. Our mother was a single woman, raising four children for a while without the support of our father. There was little to no child support when our parents divorced and what our Mother did receive was only through dragged out court proceedings that never supported the ex-wife back in the late 60's. So, we grew up seeing what a really proud woman looked like, and Char is no different.

Char does have a part time job taking care of a wheel chair bound gentleman who needs assistance getting around and even with that, she lives at the current U.S. poverty level. If her current vehicle gives out, she'll lose that income. Some family members have helped her out in the past, although never on a scale such as this. In the various times that we have given her some money, her appreciation is deeply sincere. She'll take help when it's offered, but never will she ask for it herself.

Our sister will make do without a lot and still smile, but to have to see her go through her days not smiling and not attending events during the holidays because she has no teeth was too much for us to not try to help. This is not something we ever thought we'd would be doing, but I am so very grateful that GiveSendGo is here for us to at least be able to try getting some assistance for her.

I wasn't sure how Char would feel about this or if she would even allow it. After much thought, she decided it would be OK as long as it was after Christmas. She thought that at this time of year, everyone had more to worry about than her. We thank you for taking the time to read this. The focus of this campaign is to get Char the help she needs with her dental costs and perhaps pay off a few bills so she could have a shot at getting back on the right track. No doubt some will be critical of making this so public, and we understand that. I think a good question is, how much should any of us deal with on their own, before asking for help?

GiveSendGo has given us such a tremendous opportunity to help our sister. We love that they are a Christian crowd funding platform that allows people to send nothing more than a prayer! They believe in freedom and stand for all people and will not end your campaign because they disagree with your beliefs, political or not! Through GiveSendGo's generous "Giving Twosday" celebration, our campaign hs received a generous donation. We thank GiveSendGo and those wonderful supporters.

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