I don't recall exactly when I met
JoanMar. Probably, it was in a comment section on The Porch; we
do feel a little freer to "let our hair down" there. I do know that I have always loved JoanMar's gentle tenacity, even when we disagreed over this that or the other. Late in 2014, JoanMar and I were joined at the hip when it was announced that we were to become the
two newest editors for Black Kos. Then late in April of this year, JoanMar had noticed a couple of my complaints about the speed of the computers in the public library and Kos-mailed me wondering if would allow for a community fundraiser to be held so that I could get a laptop computer to do more work here at Kos. I said yes, and JoanMar and peregrinekate
conducted a fundraiser. Two weeks later, I had a spanking new laptop.
JoanMar is not simply a "virtual" friend; she is a kind-hearted woman, mother, someone that I affectionately call "Sis" as well as a valued member of the Daily Kos community. In addition to her Blog Administrator duties at Black Kos, she is also the founder and a Blog Administrator of the Support the Dream Defenders Group and a Blog Administrator of Barriers and Bridges, The Police Accountability Group, and Community Fundraisers Group
And now, JoanMar needs our help.
Last Saturday, JoanMar's oldest daughter passed away suddenly in the hospital. I cannot imagine the grief and the shock and the pain that my online "sister" and her offline family is going through. JoanMar needs all of the love and support that this online community can muster.
Expenses for her daughter's funeral are estimated to be around $10,000.00; at the same time, JoanMar is also providing financial support for her other children and her extended family. Thanks to the enormous generosity of JoanMar's online family here at Daily Kos, a total of $9,479.00 in donations has been raised as a result of two previous fundraisers (as of 1am Sunday morning). We are trying to cover the entire cost of the funeral so that JoanMar and her family do not incur any additional expenses. And we are nearly at our goal!
Because of your caring support this amazing community has almost covered all of the funeral costs. What we don't know is what unexpected expenses will crop up.
We do know that, like so many of us, Joan lives pay check to paycheck. We know she has lost time from work and will no doubt miss some more. We don't want financial concerns to add to an already overburdened heart. Therefore, we'd like to increase our goal to $15,000 so Joan, her younger children, and family, can have the needed time to be together without added financial worries. They have a long road in front of them, one we can ease.
Any size monetary donation or even a tip, a rec, or republishing this to your Kos-groups would be greatly appreciated. And thank all of you for all that you already do!
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Fundraising Updates from JoanMar
I just got the first fundraising total update from Joan. She expresses her profound gratitude to the community for its wonderful outpouring of support. Most of you don't know this, but Joan has also been supporting other members of her real extended family for years. It would be fantastic if we could cover the entire costs associated with this funeral and not allow her to incur any debt whatsoever. Let's see if we can do it! Thank you, everyone. (JekyllnHyde)
Update #1 (Wednesday, August 26th): As of 8:47 pm Eastern Time, the fundraising total is $2,545.00!
Update # 2: Wow, this is simply amazing! As of 10:00 pm ET, we stand at $3585.44. Thank you, thank you, thank you!
Update # 3: Fantastic! We've reached $6567.31 as of 11:00 pm ET. Let's keep it going, please. All of us on the fundraising team don't have the appropriate words to offer our thanks.
Update # 4: I simply cannot believe this. Your incredible generosity means the world to JoanMar and her family. As of 12:00 am, we are up to $7023.54!!!!
Update # 5 (Thursday, August 27th): Are you ready for this? The new fundraising total is $8676.77 as of 10:45 pm ET. Let's get this closer to $10,000. Thanks, everybody.
Update #6: As of midnight, JoanMar informed us the new total is $8939.63. Hugs and kisses to ALL. This community is the BEST!
Update #7 (Sunday, August 30th): As of 1:00 a.m. ET on Sunday, August 30, the new total is $9479.00. This does not count the snail-mail contributions.
Update #8: I just got another update from Joan. As of 1:00 pm ET, the fundraising total stands at $9674.69. Thank you and let's keep moving forward. (JnH)
Update #9: As of 9:55 pm ET, the total is $9,819.00. Thanks for your contributions.
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Please Help JoanMar Pay for Her Daughter's Funeral
- Go to PayPal.com. Click Send Money to Family and Friends, which allows the recipient to get 100% of the donation. Enter JoanMar's email address nevfai@optonline.net and amount you are sending. The sender's name is visible to the recipient. Remember, every little bit helps and adds up in a hurry.
- If you would like to send a paper check or money order (to protect your real identity) through the US Mail, please send a Kosmail to elenacarlena to get the mailing address. As you can understand, Joan's going to be tied up with making funeral arrangements.
- You can also help by recommending all diaries posted during this fundraiser, offering encouraging comments, republishing to your Daily Kos groups, linking to your Facebook pages, and helping to spread the word through Twitter.
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