The Official Modest Needs Blog

Preparing an Emergency Fund

If there's one lesson I've learned here at Modest Needs, it's the need for disaster preparedness -- the financial kind, that is. I've heard stories from too many responsible, financially secure people who've suddenly lost close-to-everything due to a health diagnosis, a divorce, or a layoff. This is when living paycheck-to-paycheck with no cushion in your savings can become a VERY dangerous situation.

Which is why I thought you might want to check out this useful article from Money Magazine on 5 Steps to Building an Emergency Fund. Hopefully, you won't need one. But there's a reason why someone coined the phrase "just in case." Even if you can only manage to put a few dollars away each month, that's still something.

School Days Are Here Again

It's that time of year again -- lunches packed, school buses on the road, kids lining up at the bus stop. But for Modest Needs applicants, the back-to-school trend is often about ADULTS (low-income adults, specifically). Education is an invaluable tool in catapulting yourself out of a minimum-wage job and into a more lucrative career. But getting through those years in school is no picnic. I should know. I did it... just barely.

For one, it makes for a grueling schedule when you're working full-time and fitting classes in at night. And secondly, it's expensive. Whether you're going to grad school or taking a few courses at the local community college, the paraphernalia associated with higher education can really add up. There are books to buy, gas for commuting, childcare costs to consider, a computer for class assignments, and registration fees themselves.

It's inspiring to see how many Modest Needs applicants are willing to sacrifice so much time and money in the short-term to attain the kind of education they need to improve their family's standard of living. Take this applicant, who until recently was wondering how he'd manage to pay the rent, get his degree, and cover some medical procedures for his wife at the same time. You gave him the few hundred dollars he needed to make ends meet, and to continue working toward a better life.

He's just one of many applicants on Modest Needs battling to stay in school. I invite you to visit our website to meet more, and to offer a few dollars toward the gift of their education.

The Part of Child-Rearing a Parent Can't Do Alone

Do you realize the great lengths that people go to in order to submit their Modest Needs applications online? They borrow friends' computers, take hour-long bus trips to Kinko's, or make multiple visits to use the computer at their local library. Oftentimes, children are in tow, witnessing every minute of the experience.

And, as this single mother points out in her testimonial -- a thank-you note for some long-overdue dental work -- the reward is more than worth the effort. For her children as well as herself.

"I have 3 daughters, and they saw me work so hard going to the library to get all my documentation scanned correctly. As I checked each day for the points, they began to watch, too. Today my 10-year-old checked and came to tell me she thought it was fully funded. She didn't want to over-excite me because my 12-year-old said no, she had mis-read that. (She definitely was not going to risk the let-down.) You all have not just changed my life -- you see, my kids have always loved me and my teeth. But you have taught them about faith and about the compassion of other people. You have coupled with me to teach them by action a life-long lesson of love one for another. Thank you. This is a part of raising children that a parent can't do alone. Gratefully, Patricia, Katy, Meagan and Cheyenne!"

Putting Some FUN into your Office Fundraiser

Have you ever considered starting up a fundraiser at the office?

If so, here are a few terrific ideas for fitting some philanthropy into your 9-to-5. As this article points out, raising money for Modest Needs or any other charity doesn't have to be a chore. Consider the "Pink Ballerina Hippo Costume Fund-Raising Contest!" That sounds a whole lot more entertaining than any other part of your day's agenda, doesn't it?

What's the Alternative if You Can't Afford a Burial?

You might not believe the answer. This applicant will see her husband's body turned over to the state if she can't pay for a burial.

It leaves me almost speechless. Really, can you think of anything more traumatizing?

Rescuing people from awful situations is a wonderful feeling. You pay for a single mom's car repair, and it's fixed. You cover the rent for a family of five, and the next month they're providing for themselves. You fork over the money so that an elderly couple can keep up with their medication.

There are some things that money just can't FIX, however. Like grief. When you help pay for a funeral or burial, you're providing something that grieving applicants need more than money. More than anything.

Comfort.

With that in mind, here's a list of applicants struggling after the death of a loved one:

Funeral Costs
Funds to Bury my Brother
Car Payment - Death in Family

As always, thank you for visiting the Modest Needs blog.

Modest Needs on AOL!

Modest Needs' media buzz just keeps on growing! Today we're getting the word out with a news piece on AOL, and we've seen a fantastic response already. For example, this blogger just decided to donate after reading about us there. Hopefully we'll see plenty more where she came from!

What a wonderful way to start off the weekend...

Princess Diana Dress Fundraiser

Just in case you can't make it to see the famous exhibition of Princess Diana's gowns at London's Kensington Palace... You still have a few days left to visit the "Dresses for Humanity II" engagement at the Hard Rock Hotel at Universal Orlando, where a selection of 12 of Diana's dresses are on display to the public.

Thanks to the master fundraisers at Loews Hotels, a portion of proceeds from this event will benefit Modest Needs. Tickets cost $22 for adults, $8 for children, and are available through Ticketmaster. The exhibition runs through August 14.

The Toughest Job of All...

May be the job hunt itself.

According to a recent NBC News piece, this summer presents job-seekers with one of the most difficult markets in decades. In June alone, the U.S. saw 62,000 jobs lost. More than 1.6 million people have been out of work for at least 6 months. And as Modest Needs applicants know, it's often not for lack of trying.

Let's say you're laid off from your job. (No stretch of the imagination required. Every day the news media reports more layoffs by well-known U.S. companies.) You've got a mortgage to pay. You need health insurance for your family. You spend your days networking, researching, writing cover letters, interviewing. But there just aren't that many jobs out there right now -- and you've joined a massive pool of other well-qualified people out there fighting for one. So you take a part-time hourly job in the meantime just to pay the bills.

Then you get sick. Or your spouse gets sick. Or your child. Finally, miraculously, you land a new job, but you have a month or two before your first paycheck hits, and you've got medical bills to pay. And all of a sudden you're at risk of losing your home. Your only hope is to appeal to strangers (aka Modest Needs donors) to help you get through the most trying few weeks of your life.

It doesn't seem outside the realm of possibility, does it?

The easy thing is to look at Modest Needs applicants as "other" people. The harder thing is to realize that in a lot of ways they're exactly like you -- just with a run of very, very bad luck.

A Matter of Life and Limb

A few nights ago, we had absolutely horrific thunderstorms here -- the severe kind that shake the walls of your house, make your heart race, brighten the night sky with explosions of light so bright you can't sleep. And as I lie awake and heard the sirens start up in the distance, there was one thing I was thinking about: this applicant.

Why? Because thunderstorms don't just make a lot of noise -- they can also cause significant damage. Sometimes, they bring down trees. In the worst circumstances, they bring down trees onto houses and people.

Just a few weeks ago, this gentleman, who devised one of the most compelling application titles I've seen in a long time ("A Matter of Life and Limb"), was just WAITING for a dangerous, cracking tree branch to collapse onto his house. In a violent thunderstorm like the one I heard a few nights ago, I kept thinking, it would most certainly have come down.

But it didn't. Because you paid the $250 that he and his wife (both elderly and disabled) needed to remove the tree branch and keep them safe. Here's what he had to say about your generosity:

"I am 81 years old and totally disabled, and my wife is 74 years old and totally disabled. The only income we have is Social Security and a small VA pension. A tree just about 20 feet from our house has a large broken limb that is only held up by other branches. If it comes down, it is sure to cause damage to our house or to people. We didn't have the money to get it removed. Now we can, thanks to all the people in this organization. I am happy to see there are people who will help their fellow man. I didn't think any existed anymore. I will be donating as much as I can from now on, thanks to all of you. Russell G. Parks"

A Personal Investment

Just how deep can the connection between donor and applicant run?

In this case, a donor was so concerned for an applicant (who, incidentally, she'd never met or spoken to before) that she called our offices twice looking for advice on how to "speed up" this applicant's funding.

Now the applicant in question surely did have a heartbreaking story and a desperate need for the grant; a terminally ill mother of four was asking that you cover her tax bill while she waited for her Social Security Disability to kick in.

But the fact that this kind-hearted donor felt so emotionally connected that she put forth this much extra effort to help someone she'd never even met before? That kind of bridging-the-cyber-gap philanthropy reminds me why I started Modest Needs in the first place.

Every person reacts differently to a Modest Needs application, but if there's just one applicant's story that speaks to you, I hope you'll consider donating or purchasing a gift certificate. Recently, I felt especially moved by an application from a wife trying to get back on her feet after her husband passed away this June from brain cancer. I'm keeping my fingers crossed that you'll pony up some Modest Needs points for her, too.