I've known Bonnie via Facebook for almost 4 years and I met her in person nearly one year ago when a group of about 30 Facebook friends all met each other for the first time. I also have known Sandra for about the same amount of time via Facebook. She is the one who established this GoFundMe campaign for our friend Bonnie.
Here's Bonnie's story (as written by Sandra on the GoFundMe website):
Dear Friends,
Sometimes life can take a turn and you have no control over the situations and you find yourself in a vulnerable position needing the help of others. This can happen to anyone and this is what happened to my friend Bonnie.
Two years ago Bonnie's husband, Russ, died at age 57. Bonnie & Russ were high school sweethearts, married 39 years, (and counting dating) were together 43 years. Losing him has been like losing a part of her soul. Russ worked at the same company for 30 years and it shut down. Being older & in poor health, he found himself without a job and Bonnie and Russ went through their savings leaving them financially struggling.
After Russ passed her world turned upside down realizing the financial stress she would now have..with no life insurance to help her...and because she isn't old enough to retire she cannot collect his Social Security yet. Along with the pain & grief of losing Russ, and now financial struggles, life has become very difficult for Bonnie. She is a dedicated employee who works at her job each night from 4:30 pm to 3 am but is living from paycheck to paycheck.
Last week she found out she owes $700 for taxes because of her tax withholdings on her paycheck. This amount was impossible for her to come up with. Now, she changed her tax withholdings (so she won't owe taxes next year) but this leaves her with almost $200 less takehome pay each month. Bonnie has had to rely on help from family for other things in the last two years to get by, (And they have been a huge blessing in her life), but now she faces the months ahead knowing she will be earning less money and this is very discouraging.
Somtimes, its seems like she can't get a break from the struggles, but Bonnie is a christian and she knows that the Lord will sustain her. In one way or another, He has made things work the last two years.
The Lord has laid it upon my heart to do what I can to make a difference in Bonnie's life at this time. James 1:27 says that true religion is helping orphans and widows in their time of distress. Bonnie is in a time of distress and I would like to ask you to help her in any way you can. Let's show her that Christ can send others to help her when she can't help herself. If you are not able to help financially, please keep Bonnie in your prayers.
Thank you for taking the time to read my page.
God bless you.
Sandra Man
The following picture is a screen shot of a comment made by Bonnie underneath one of Sandra's facebook postings of this GoFundMe campaign she established for Bonnie.
As of the time of this writing, the amount received on the GoFundMe campaign for Bonnie is currently at $1,470.00. Every penny of it is a blessing to Bonnie and is humbly and graciously accepted by her. But, on her behalf, I'm going to state the obvious (because neither Bonnie nor Sandra would ever say it out of a fear of sounding "greedy"): $1,470.00 is a good start...but, much more is really needed.
I, too, want to avoid sounding "greedy", but the point of me writing this blog post is to highlight the absolute NEED for more help for Bonnie. I would guess that somewhere closer to $20,000-25,000 would be a number that would actually relieve the pressure on Bonnie's finances and prevent her from experiencing this exact same financial situation in another month or two. I live on the edge of the monetary abyss myself...I know all too well of that which I am speaking. I know what a DAILY, all-consuming stress-fest it is to be constantly shackled with financial FEAR. That's why I'm writing this post for Bonnie. I don't think that $25,000 is really an attainable goal...but, I also know that the current stated "goal" of $2,000.00 on the GoFundMe campaign won't come close to fixing Bonnie's current financial problems. Any upkeep on her home that her family has not been able to assist her with has been put-off and I know there are several needs in this area. Plus, anytime any of the little "financial surprises" that strike all of us at the most inopportune times (car repairs, broken household appliances, etc.) are incapable of being addressed at this time in Bonnie's current situation. The need for one major car repair could completely devastate any financial plan or budget that Bonnie may currently have.
When Sandra created this campaign for Bonnie I know she felt "greedy" when she originally asked for donations of $700.00 from strangers for a person they do not know and will likely never meet. We are all (Bonnie, Sandra, myself) extraordinarily thankful for each and every donation that has been received on the GoFundMe site for Bonnie thus far. But, I'll be the one to state that it's not nearly enough. Not yet. If you can find it within your budget to donate even $5 or $10 (or more) to Bonnie, you could help at least one other person in this world who truly needs it...but, would never expect it.
Thank you very much for reading and sharing this story. And, if you are one of the donors to the GoFundMe campaign for Bonnie, may it return to you tenfold! Thank you for being a blessing in Bonnie's life whether you donate or help out by sharing this story. In whichever capacity you may choose to participate, please know that any and ALL help is appreciated. Thank you!
If you wish to help out Bonnie, please click HERE to be taken to the GoFundMe website.
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