I want to especially thank the anonymous donation today from a kind soul who just came forward with a gift of $1000.00 toward the cause. This has put us well over the $2,000.00 mark toward the $3,000 we initially set as our fundraiser goal. THANK YOU ... ALL of you!!! You have also been eminently patient with these constant reminders I have been posting, incessantly banging on your doors, so to speak, asking for help for this lady. I know. I know. It's a drag. I hate fund raisers on my classical music station. I rarely donate to causes online or on the air unless they're causes I truly believe in. I just did make a donation today to an unrelated worthy cause online; but that's rare. I make a point of giving a tenth to my parish, which I don't consider charity but a joyful obligation; and anything beyond that is charity.
How about you? What do you consider a cause sufficiently worthy of your generous charity? Evidently one anonymous and very generous soul thought our cause (helping out Tonya) was sufficiently worthy to send in $1,000.00. Do I think this person was rich? I don't know, but I wouldn't be surprised at all if the answer was no. As a Knight of Columbus, I've had the chance to watch who gives and who doesn't as I stand outside Walmarts handing out Tootsie Rolls in exchange for donations to help the mentally retarded or the otherwise disabled. Those who give most often are are not the ones who are parking expensive SUVs and coming in and out. Typical is the Mexican family that walks by and sends one of their little sons up with a dollar bill as they all stand smiling and waving from a distance. Those coming and going from their shiny new SUVs hardly notice I'm there. So it wouldn't surprise me if those of you who have given did so at some expense, some sacrifice. It's in the nature of things. God sees that, and He's honored by it. He says as much in 'The Good Book.'
In just SEVEN MORE DAYS this fund-raiser will be closing down and saying thank you, and goodbye. Now is your opportunity to give to THIS lady. In seven more days that opportunity will be gone. There will be other opportunities for charity, doubtless; but not for this lady. Ask the Lord what He thinks you should do. I'm not the one asking for myself here. I'm asking on behalf of this lady that you consider what the Lord would have you do. No pressure from me. None. If I know you, I'll continue to like you just as much whether you give anything or not. This is between you and the Lord. Seriously.
If you can, consider making a generous gift for this lady. Does she not need reliable transportation to work? Isn't she already working at the only job she has managed to find? Do we not have SOME means of helping her out? How much money do we easily part with at a shopping center, at a coffee shop, at a restaurant, without batting an eyelash? Do we miss that money when it's gone? Is this lady's need less important than the things on which we daily spend money? Think about it.
About every three months I end up hauling bagfuls of STUFF to Goodwill or Salvation Army to get rid of things, things, and more things that have been given to us a gifts or which we've acquired one way or other -- clothes we no longer wear, stuffed animals, the kind of STUFF that ends up in Goodwill or Salvation Army! Where does all this STUFF come from? Do we need it? No. And even when it comes to the things we need, do we really need the most expensive and fashionable name BRAND[TM]? You hear what I'm saying? I'm sure you do.
"Do not lay up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy and where thieves break in and steal; but lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys and where thieves do not break in and steal. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also." (Matthew 6:19-21)
If you can't give money, please pray for Tonya and her two boys, and pray for the success of our fund-raiser, so that we can help her get a reliable car in November. She wouldn't admit it, but I know she depends on our success.
Also, if any of you know of someone who might have a used car in decent condition which they would be willing to sell at a discount, please let us know.
If you can give money, you may send a check by emailing me at blosser.philip@shms.edu for instructions. Alternately, you may use the online 'Donate' button below to contribute with a credit card or by means of Paypal online.
Also, please note that when you click on the 'Donate' button, you will be re-directed to a page that says "Donate to Academy Press" (either by Paypal or credit card). 'Academy Press' is the name of the account which we're using to process donations for Tonya.
Thank you for your generosity!!
