With our Application of the Day feature, and other appeals for help, you are often presented with the moving portraits of those with modest needs. What you don't see nearly as often, is the outcome of your generosity. Which is no small thing, rest assured.
We talk about how your donations, no matter how small, can change a life. We stress that you can make an enormous impact. So much so, in fact, that "change a life" can become somewhat of a tired phrase. With repeated use, it can lose its impact.
Today, I'd like to tell you about a recent applicant who truly, genuinely had his world bettered by your gifts of compassion.
He is an Iraq war veteran who "suffered a head injury, gunshot wound, and shrapnel in [his] left side. As a result of [his] head injury, [he] lost some vision, hearing, and has chronic Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder." As if that wasn't enough, he was also a victim of identity theft, which left him with unpaid debt and creditors breathing down his neck.
Because he could no longer climb the stairs, (the bullet in his leg prevents it, but removing the bullet would mean amputation) this veteran also had to move. All of these awful occurances caused, quite understandably, a financial shortfall. Without help with his mortgage, on top of it all, he could have lost his home.
But, you stepped in. You gave what you could. You saw this modest need, with so many atrocious consequences if gone unmet, and you filled it. As a result, this veteran tells us, explicitly, that his life was changed:
Dear Modest Needs and Contributors,
Melody and I are overwhelmed at the generosity and kindness of the American people. By funding our need, your organization and the wonderful contributors have allowed us to breathe a sigh of relief, and also have renewed our faith in the fact that the trials we are going through surely cannot last. Modest Needs has allowed us to believe in the goodness and generosity of this great Nation, and the American people. Hope is now restored in our lives, and mere words cannot describe the gratitude that we both feel in our hearts. Thank you, Modest Needs, and thank you contributors; you have made a difference, and a lasting impact in our lives.
Sincerely, David and Melody Smith
Hope restored. Faith in a nation restored. His ability to remain financially self-sufficient restored. A positive outlook on his future, despite all that has happened in the recent past.
That is no small thing. In fact, it is enormous. And, I suspect, it fills your heart with pride and passion to help even more of those people just like Sgt. David Smith of Jacksonville, Tennessee.
This is what we mean when we say your gifts change lives.
And this is just one man. At Modest Needs, we often fill three requests in a single day. Thanks to you.
So, if you ever doubt what your dollars do for others when you give through Modest Needs, don't. It's huge. It's remarkable. It's actually, sincerely life-changing.
I do not disagree with this post..
Posted by: Leuchtmittel LED | November 18, 2011 at 02:19 PM