I have seen the Change We Need, and it is us.
KINship - Kossacks in Need is moving forward slowly but surely in this cold, blessed month! This is a diary asking for your support, for your requests, for your ideas, and thanking the dKos community for everything it's accomplished so far.
Details below the fold.
You can read more about the earlier stages of KINship in these diaries, posted earlier this month. The premise behind KINship is currently a three-fold project:
- KINwiki - a Wiki project that gathers together national and local resources for people in trouble. Originally, this was just going to be a state directory. Through input and discussion, we've added career resources to the project in addition mental health resources and more. Rip is currently working on programming the wiki, and we have a tentative goal of having something launchable by February or March of 2009. With the advent of kossacksnetworking, it is unlikely that our Wiki will actually include a job board, but will include links to job resources (including etherapy's board).
- Adopt a Kossack - a seasonal project currently underway with two goals: 1. matching Kossacks who are spending the holidays alone with Kossacks that have seats available at the holiday table; 2. providing Kossacks who have a family but no funds for holiday celebrations with enough funds to provide them with a family dinner or gifts for the kiddos.
- KINship Microgrant project - this project was originally intended to launch in 2009, after we'd had time to raise funds and research non-profit organizations, etc, but the sad truth is that the need is real today. Actually, the need was real last week, last month, etc., and we're jumping in feet first on this one.
Here's what has been accomplished in the past week or so:
- We have a confidential directory currently being shared between myself and our other permanent volunteer (Hi, Patrick!) to help us determine the best matches for the Adopt a Kossack program.
- We have a fellow Kossack, Rip, working on the coding for the KINwiki website, which will be the primary goal for the organization once December holidays are handled.
- We have made some successful matches for Thanksgiving and hope to have success stories to you in the coming weeks (assuming the KIN in question are willing to share their experiences).
- We have multiple KIN who have contacted us for help, needs ranging from the simple to the complex. Their stories are the own, I will not share them here without their permission, but overall the need is great.
- We have been contacted by a tremendous number of donors, many of which have already donated to the fund via our new PayPal account. Many more are awaiting instruction to help out with families for December holidays.
- A gmail account has been opened for central communications, and will be monitored by both Patrick and myself at kinshipplanning@gmail.com.
- A PayPal account has been opened to accept cash donations at kinshipplanning@gmail.com - funds that go to this account will be used as we see fit. In other words, it may go to a family's dinner, a child's toy, or to help a Kossack keep their house out of foreclosure.
- I'm working with a local credit union this week to have a seperate bank account for the organization, to allow us to send microgrants in particular without paying exorbitant PayPal fees in the process. For those who are uncomfortable with donating via the internet, we will also be able to accept donations via check once this account has been approved and finalized.
We also plan to start a ChipIn account once we formalize the bank account, so we can widget these things.
So what does all of this mean?
For potential donors - it means we still need your help. Specifically, I have to microgrant projects that have a very strict time limit and large dollar amounts involved. One involves a home foreclosure, the other involves utilities lost without a rather expensive plumbing project completed. Between these two projects, we're looking at $3,300 and less than two weeks to gather it together.
For potential requestors - it means we're still here, and we are still available to help you as best as we can. Please keep in mind that with two days to go, Thanksgiving requests will be difficult to fulfill (but we're still willing to try, mind you!), but we'll be working on December projects next.
To all involved: Your information will be kept as confidential as possible. We have no more than two pairs of eyes on this information at any given time, and both of us are from backgrounds where confidentiality has become second nature. Your stories, your identity, your contribution and your needs are safe with us.
Those of you who had expressed an interest in giving before have likely received an email from our new address at kinshipplanning@gmail.com - this is also the address to send any funds via PayPal. If you have any questions as a donor or as a requestor, please also direct them to that email address.
And now the closing remarks and so on...
To make a KINship request, whether for a seat at a table, for help for the holidays, or something more significant, send an email to kinshipplanning@gmail.com with "KINship Request - City, ST" in your subject line (with your city and state, of course). Please include your dKos username, your real name, what your need is, and your email/phone, if applicable.
To volunteer as a KINship donor, without contributing to PayPal (or in addition), please send an email to kinshipplanning@gmail.com with "KINship donor - City, ST" in your subject line. Again, please provide your username, real name, what you would like to offer, and your email/phone. If you are offering seats at your holiday table, please let us know how many you can accomodate.
To volunteer as a KINship organizer, send an email to kinshipplanning@gmail.co with "Sign Me Up!" in the subject line - as soon as I get my access returned to google groups (long story there), I'll send you an invite to join the discussion for the project.
Last time I posted about KINship, it made the rec list. If that happens again today, I will share with the group what cities we still need to seat a Kossack in to see if we have any volunteers lurking in the wings, along with cities that have ready availability but no KIN to join the celebrations! This won't happen until tonight, though. I have to work sometime, you know.
Thanks to all of you for your help, your support, and for your willingness to help make someone's day a little brighter.