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Hello Fellow Philanthropist,

My name is Erica and I am a full-time college student.  I am in my fourth year of college and currently in my most diffult financial situation.  I am in need of temporary help to pay for my books and tuition this spring semester.  You are probably wondering why I am here asking for your help and not turning to family.  Well my situation is a little different from most of my peers, I am completely on my own.  I do not and have not had my family support for the last 4 years of presuing an education.  I am paying my way through college with very hard earned cash that I have saved over the years.  By the grace of God I have made it through the last four years successfully.  This year however my saving is running short.  I will be graduating soon, but not for another year, as I have recently declared my major and scheduled to graduate in the spring of 2008.  Although I have not had much to live on each year, roughly about $2,500 a year, I have still managed to give back to others in my community to help them financially.  I have written personal checks to single mothers, familes of six, and donated to various charities to aid children such as Ronald McDonald House Charities, and Children's Charities.org, and regularly give to the Salvartion Army.  At the same time I have received the occasional financial helping form others as well, but that returned help is very small.  I am coming into a desperately tight corner and I cannot seem to find my way out.  I have a $1,500 bill hovering over my head from my University that I must pay by March 1st.  If this bill is not payed I will be dropped from my classes.  You may be wondering why I have not applied for scholarships or loans; well I have applied for scholarships and my financial aid money  that was granted to me has run out.  I have not applied for credit loans, because I cannot see the good in paying one debt with another debt and higher interest rate.  This $1,500 bill is the remainder for this current school year.  I am currently employed and doing what I can to make payments, but my university is demanding a full one-time payment of this bill. It is an amount that I simply cannot make in one month.  So how did I get into this situation?  I will tell you:  it began with a surgery on January 12th to remove my tonsils.  Due to a deteriorating immune system aided from tonsils that were no longer doing their job in preventing sickness, my physician in my university's campus health center strongly recomended that I have them removed.  This original recommendation was given to me 2 years ago, but due to the fact that I do not have medical insurance I did not have the surgery then.  Since that time my health began to get worse and I endured repeated illnesses of tonsilitis and strep-throat every 3 months.  Finally after a very bad case of tinsilitis that left me with enflammed tonsils for 3 months, I scheduled the surgery at the local hospital Long Beach Memorial.  I was forced to use the money that I had saved for my education to pay for the surgery, $1,500. 

Now I have the university bill and time is quickly slipping by me.  I am asking for the most help that I have ever asked for in my life.  I am not one to  ask for the help of others, it is simply not apart of my nature.  I would rather give than take from the hand of good honest people.  I have waited until I have no other choices but to ask from you, the good hard working person who is trying to make their way, just like me.  If you can find it in your heart to help me pay this last portion of my educational bill, I will be so grateful to you for your kindness.  

Hi, My name is Laura Hill. My daughter is a single mom who has 2 children ages, 3yrs. and almost 1yr. Jennie (my daughter) is trying to go to school to better herself, but the Welfare dept. will not give her money for child care because They want her to have a job or go to school for 32 hrs. a week, her schooling is only 24 hrs. a week. Her brother had been helping her with rent. But he has recently lost his job. Between her rent coming due and her bills she doesn't have any money for Christmas presents.

My 3 yr old grandaughter Alexia was born with Turner Syndrome. So my daughter has that to contend with as well. Jayla will be 1 yr old on December 14th. At this point she will not be getting any presents for her birthday from her mama. I am asking for help because I am unable to provide enough. I give them all I can, as well as babysitting every week for at least 2 nights, while Jennie goes to school. Next week I go in for Carpal Tunnel surgery and will not be able to help my daughter with childcare for at least 4 wks. I am asking for help which I do not do very often...

Any help would be greatly appreciated.

Iam 48years old an about 8 years ago I made the worse mistake of my life. I alound a dentis to talk me in to removing all my teeth so I could recieve some dentures. I put my teeth& mouth in his hands I thought he was giving me good  advise until I recieve my denture I thought  I would just die so Iam living with a big upper lip my detures alouds me to eat some time when my gums or not  sore, And my self estem, my happy go lucky love for life I had is so far out of reach I just want to go in hide most of the time. Please please help some one that can not help they self.  My wish is that I could be bless with teeth implants in live once again.                  Sincerely Yours : Mrs Wideman                                                              

I AM A CARETAKER IN LONG BEACH CALIFORNIA. I HAVE BEEN TAKING CARE OF MY GRANDMOTHER FOR THE LAST 4 YEARS.  SHE HAD SEVERAL STROKES AND WAS BED RIDDEN. NOW, SHE WALKS WITH HER WALKER AND CAN DRESS HERSELF. BEING A CARETAKER IS NOT A JOB EVERYONE CAN DO. IT IS VERY HARD ON YOUR BODY, YOUR MIND AND YOUR POCKET. IM 32 AND HAVE TO LIVE WITH MY MOM/GRANDMOTHER BECAUSE I BARELY MAKE ENOUGH TO SURVIVE. IN HOME SUPPORT SERVICES OF LA COUNTY IS WHAT WE GO THROUGH. MY GRANDMOTHER NOW HAS TO TAKE A LARGE PORTION OF HER MONTHLY CHECK TO PAY ME, AND I THINK IT SUCKS.  I AM WILLING TO WORK FOR ANYONE WHO NEEDS HELP. IM OUTGOING, FUN, AND EASY TO GET USED TO. KAREBEAR

I have developed a methodology for beautifying distressed neighborhoods and making money at the same time, for myself, employees, passive investors, local suppliers of home improvement materials (including Home Depot, Lowe's, Ikea, Ace Hardware, and also small locally owned shops...) the city government, and the residents in general of an overlooked and underserved place.

My company has been written up in the Los Angeles Times, on CNN, in Fortune Small Business, and most recently, in a 30 minute documentary on HD.net world news report.

Our motto is to create wealth in a cooperative and sustainable way, by inspiring others to create wealth. Reducing our impact on the environment is a core value, so we focus exclusively on renovating existing housing stock in inner cities. We do not build anything new or tear down anything existing. The result is that the neighborhood improves and the quality of life goes up without any major upheaval in the fabric of the community. The local economy just gets better, the streets get safer, and the properties get more beautiful. Everyone wins.

What I want is for people to buy properties in the places my company recommends. My commitment to you is that if you do this you will prosper. Looking back, the places I would have you invest were in Oakland CA in 1995 (I told hundreds of people to buy there with me, 26 did), large houses for under $150,000; then in Long Beach CA in 2002 (this time I got about 40 people to follow) small apartment buildings for under $200,000; then in Compton CA and South Central Los Angeles in 2003 (I had 20 investors purchase 37 homes) for under $200,000; in early 2005 I picked Phoenix AZ. All of those cities went up in value sharply after I picked them and were in the top 10 zip codes for real estate appreciation in the 12 months following. This is no accident. I do tons of research on the entire national real estate situation before selecting what I consider the best market. And part of it is a self-fulfiling prophesy, when people buy into a community and have a stake in making it better, it gets better. Duh.

There are 4 hot markets I recommend right now. Buy there, or simply watch from the sidelines to see if what I say pans out. Personally I have ALL my money invested in this. And about a million dollars from friends and family.

(1) Phoenix, from Thunderbird south to Van Buren, and east of I-17. Buy everything under $200,000 (it's getting to be slim pickins). When that is gone, we go block by block west of I-17.

(2) Baltimore, the Patterson Park area, south of North Ave down to Eastern, start at Broadway going east. Buy everything under $40,000 in any condition (even vacant land) and anything habitable or able to be made habitable with $15K or less in rehab for up to $100,000. Once that is gone we go up to the area around Druid Lake and east of there.

(3) Atlanta, the area around Clark University and the Georgia Dome. North of I-20, anything under $100/sqft.

(4) Philadelphia, a mile or two south of Rittenhouse Square (19146) and University City (19104). Anything under $50,000 (even vacant lots) and anything in easily renovateable condition under $100/sqft. These are absolute steals.

When you make offers let me know so I don't bid against you. There are plenty of amazing deals to go around, so let's coordinate our efforts!