Helping Hand project - Page 2

JamesHenderson · 3 Jan 2004, 05:48 AM

Quote:

Originally posted by JeffK
My understanding is that the recipient receives a free Fastmail members account by means of the gift system; that is the giver buys a gift certificate which then goes to Gerry who sends it on.

Jeff

The gift system would be the easiest from logisitical, complexity and transparancy (safety) point of view.

Maybe FM themselves could hold the "gift budget" and Kander, Camner et. al. form an assessement panel (for want of a better description) that can authorise FM to create accounts using the gift budget.

The easiest way to do this is if in the "purchase gift" page, there is an official "donate to helping hand" option. This would help generate awareness, remove suspicion of it being a fraud and make it easier to donate.

You would also want to piggy back FM's newsletter with "gifts donated this quarter" section etc etc.

I'd also be happy to help, but quite understand that none of you know who the heck I am.

James.

camner · 3 Jan 2004, 05:51 AM

A thought about payment...suppose we (I?) set up a PayPal account for this purpose, and then collected $$ through people making PayPal deposits..then, as enough accumulated and accts are awarded, buying FM accounts on their behalf. If people wanted to send checks, I wouldn't mind setting up a bank account tied to the PayPal account.

kander · 3 Jan 2004, 05:53 AM

Hey James,

That sounds like a relatively good idea. I think the previous incarnation of the project was already being mentioned in the newsletter from time to time (that is, unless my memory is failing me).

Making it official would require updates in the FM interface, I am pretty sure that Fastmail would be rather hesitant considering the long list of things they've still got to work on as it is now... But it's a great idea nonetheless. Perhaps initially a FAQ entry would serve well enough, though?

You're right, we haven't got a clue who you are ^__^ But you do seem to have good ideas and suggestions, so we're at least willing to listen to you

Edit: Camner... wouldn't it be easier to have people put money in their FM account and transfer the money to us (in the form of a 'helpinghandsproject@fastmail.fm account) by means of Gift Certificates? Although having a paypal account as well, and perhaps accepting checks to top it off would make people less hesitant to ship us their bags o' gold

--K

**JeffK** · 3 Jan 2004, 05:54 AM

It certainly is a scheme worth pursuing. I have made some friends through the scheme including a few living and working away from home (a Filipino in Saudi Arabia and a US missionary in Romania).

Jeff

JamesHenderson · 3 Jan 2004, 05:59 AM

no problem. Happy to help. If you do go offline with this, let me know and I'll see if can contribute anything.

James.

... by the way, what does ^__^ mean?

kander · 3 Jan 2004, 05:59 AM

Jeff,

You're still in touch with some people who got a Member account through this project? That's good news, as I was thinking it might perhaps be nice to have some 'Previous Receivers Testimonials'... would you mind enquiring if they'd be willing to write a little something, when this project springs back to full life again?

--K

kander · 3 Jan 2004, 06:03 AM

Quote:

Originally posted by JamesHenderson ... by the way, what does ^__^ mean? [/b]

It's a so-called Japanese Smiley. Instead of putting your head on your left shoulder to 'read' the smiley you just hold your head normally...

Here are a few common ones:

^__^ -> Amusement
o.O -> Amazed/curious/surprised
-_o -> Wink
O__O -> Undecided/Blank stare
<__< -> Cheeky, looking to the side.

They're a bit harder to intepret, but I like to use them sometimes.

--K

**JeffK** · 3 Jan 2004, 06:06 AM

Quote:

Originally posted by kander
Jeff,

You're still in touch with some people who got a Member account through this project? That's good news, as I was thinking it might perhaps be nice to have some 'Previous Receivers Testimonials'... would you mind enquiring if they'd be willing to write a little something, when this project springs back to full life again?

--K

I can ask. I think some would prefer to remain anonymous. I'll check it out.

Jeff

**Sherry** · 3 Jan 2004, 06:07 AM

Quote:

Originally posted by JamesHenderson
Maybe FM themselves could hold the "gift budget" and Kander, Camner et. al. form an assessement panel (for want of a better description) that can authorise FM to create accounts using the gift budget.

I would think all FM needs for this idea is an "account" for Helping Hand. I think many don't have, or want, a PayPal account. As for sending a check, they may want to but that is something many people "put off" doing. Also, many keep their email address private and may be uncomfortable revealing it to a "group" of people (although anyone donating, I would think, are not the paranoid type?). Anyway, sending a Gift Certificate to a FM account sounds like a good idea to me.

Sherry

Chipper · 3 Jan 2004, 06:33 AM

quote
originally posted by Sherry
I would think all FM needs for this idea is an "account" for Helping Hand. I think many don't have, or want, a PayPal account.
I agree on not having/wanting a PayPal account. Simply because that is one more "thing" in my life that I would have to keep track of. If I can charge it to my credit card, that would be great.

quote
originally posted by Sherry
Also, many keep their email address private and may be uncomfortable revealing it to a "group" of people (although anyone donating, I would think, are not the paranoid type?).
The only reason I can see some people still wanting to keep email addrs private is for fear of getting "hounded" for another donation. A family member of mine complained how she made a donation to PBS and they sent her gobs and gobs of solicitations forever.

DianeB · 3 Jan 2004, 06:50 AM

Being a newbie, I don't qualify for anything except to donate, which I would gladly do. But I did want to add my thoughts to this matter.

I think its an absolutely wonderful idea. Before Christmas, I saw a post about perhaps taking donations for some type charities & I wanted to post that IMO, I just feel it's so much nicer to be able to help individual people that are in need, because individuals seem to go by the wayside most times.

I have my own personal experience that I would like to share. I used to be a very frequent visitor to the eBay 'User to User' Q&A Board & made many friends there. One year my hot water heater went out on me & ruined all the carpet in two rooms of my house. I went 3 months without hot water, because I had no funds for replacement or repairs. My sister lives right next door, so I had my showers over there (thank goodness!!

), & was heating water in the microwave to wash dishes. After 3 months, there was only one person online that was aware that I still had no hot water. We had become really close friends & one day when she knew I wouldn't be home, she posted on the Q&A Board about my situation & started a campaign of sorts, hoping to collect enough to get me a new hot water heater. When I got home that night, I sat at my computer, tears streaming down my face, as I saw the outpouring of caring & compassion from these virtual strangers. The PayPal donations, notices that checks & Money Orders were in the mail to me, all went straight to my heart. Yes, I had talked to them many times over, on the Q&A board, but that was the only way they knew me. And I even had 2 people that emailed me, saying if enough money had not been collected, for me to let them know & they would do whatever it took to get me hot water again. I still get chill bumps when I think of what these virtual strangers did for me. (there was actually 'more' than enough collected for a new hot water heater!!) And the ONLY thing these folks asked in return, was if I ever saw anyone in need, even if all I could donate was $5.00, to do so, in order to keep the chain of love going. I might add, before this happened, my mom had told me that I needed to get out & talk to 'real' people, because the folks I talked to online weren't real. Needless to say, you can't get much more *real* than what these folks did for me !!

About a year later, I was able to repay my friend, by doing the exact same thing for her, when her hubby lost his job & insurance, right before Christmas, & just as she was having medical tests done, thinking she had cancer. (I've also taken up donations on some of my trading/refunding groups, when someone had a death in the family or some other type emergency).

My reason behind posting my story here,,,,,1st off, there was NEVER any issue of trust with whomever was handling the money portion of the donations. I think this FM forum is much like the eBay User to User board,,,,,,folks that have been around a good while, pretty much know each other & I feel that trust wouldn't be an issue at all. Even the short time that I've been here, I would have no problem what so ever, about trusting the folks that have helped me with all my questions. People who gladly donate their time & knowledge, are people that care about helping others.

I'm delighted to see that FM users are trying to help less fortunate individuals. I will most definitely keep up with this thread & gladly donate what I'm able to when the time comes.

I'll let the more seasoned users decide who, what, when, etc. I just wanted to express my personal gratitude of seeing folks here that desire to help others.

Diane

Jeremy Howard · 3 Jan 2004, 07:26 AM

I'm sorry to hear about Gerry's circumstances - I was wondering why I hadn't heard from him for a while. Thanks for checking up, Kander!

Don't worry about finances folks - FM users simply send gift certificates to the account we have have set up for the purpose using the FastMail.FM web interface.

We have agreed in the past to match dollar for dollar all donations, which we will continue to do.

I would rather see a single person take this on, rather than multiple (although of course many folks can help evangelise the program, I feel only one should administrate it). It's not a real big job - the hard bit is deciding who has genuine need.

The finances look after themselves - you receive gift certs from donors, and you can see the FM account balance through the web interface. Then when you're ready to give, you just tell me and I match the current balance with our own gift cert. Finally, you send a gift cert to the lucky recipient! So the accounting takes care of itself, and all senders and recipients are automatically tracked by the FastMail.FM gift certificate system.

I'd be more than happy to see Kander take on this responsibility, if he agrees, since I know from experience that he is a reliable and thoughtful gentleman. Kander, I can give you all the help you need with administration, although I wouldn't want to get involved in the decision making process - I want the program to remain independent.

Diane: many thanks for your touching story. I don't think offline folks realise the relationships and communities that are built online...

kander · 3 Jan 2004, 07:39 AM

Hey all,

Thanks for the story from me as well, Diane! I've got to agree with Jeremy that people who aren't 'into this internet thing' (quoting my mother) often cannot comprehend how communities really work. I can honestly say that I probably know more about the people here than I know about most of the people in my school

I just wanted to thank Jeremy for his/your vote of confidence in me. I'd be happy, not to mentioned honoured, to take over this project, but only if nobody objects... wouldn't want to stir bad feelings around here... And of course we need Gerry's approval, still.

--K

**Sherry** · 3 Jan 2004, 07:46 AM

Not that you need it kander, but I sure approve and think it's great that you would/will be handling the Helping Hand project.

Sherry

**Gankaku** · 3 Jan 2004, 07:50 AM

Kander has my two thumbs up.

3 Jan 2004, 05:51 AM	#17
camner Cornerstone of the Community Join Date: Jul 2002 Location: Tacoma, WA Posts: 642	A thought about payment...suppose we (I?) set up a PayPal account for this purpose, and then collected $$ through people making PayPal deposits..then, as enough accumulated and accts are awarded, buying FM accounts on their behalf. If people wanted to send checks, I wouldn't mind setting up a bank account tied to the PayPal account.

3 Jan 2004, 05:53 AM	#18
kander The "e" in e-mail Join Date: Jan 2002 Location: The Netherlands Posts: 4,112	Hey James, That sounds like a relatively good idea. I think the previous incarnation of the project was already being mentioned in the newsletter from time to time (that is, unless my memory is failing me). Making it official would require updates in the FM interface, I am pretty sure that Fastmail would be rather hesitant considering the long list of things they've still got to work on as it is now... But it's a great idea nonetheless. Perhaps initially a FAQ entry would serve well enough, though? You're right, we haven't got a clue who you are ^__^ But you do seem to have good ideas and suggestions, so we're at least willing to listen to you Edit: Camner... wouldn't it be easier to have people put money in their FM account and transfer the money to us (in the form of a 'helpinghandsproject@fastmail.fm account) by means of Gift Certificates? Although having a paypal account as well, and perhaps accepting checks to top it off would make people less hesitant to ship us their bags o' gold --K

3 Jan 2004, 05:54 AM	#19
JeffK Moderator Join Date: Feb 2002 Location: Kingaroy, AU Posts: 3,179	It certainly is a scheme worth pursuing. I have made some friends through the scheme including a few living and working away from home (a Filipino in Saudi Arabia and a US missionary in Romania). Jeff

3 Jan 2004, 05:59 AM	#20
JamesHenderson Cornerstone of the Community Join Date: Jan 2003 Location: Oxfordshire, UK Posts: 603	no problem. Happy to help. If you do go offline with this, let me know and I'll see if can contribute anything. James. ... by the way, what does ^__^ mean?

3 Jan 2004, 06:33 AM	#25
Chipper Master of the @ Join Date: Oct 2003 Location: Greenbelt, MD (USA) Posts: 1,278	quote originally posted by Sherry I would think all FM needs for this idea is an "account" for Helping Hand. I think many don't have, or want, a PayPal account. I agree on not having/wanting a PayPal account. Simply because that is one more "thing" in my life that I would have to keep track of. If I can charge it to my credit card, that would be great. quote originally posted by Sherry Also, many keep their email address private and may be uncomfortable revealing it to a "group" of people (although anyone donating, I would think, are not the paranoid type?). The only reason I can see some people still wanting to keep email addrs private is for fear of getting "hounded" for another donation. A family member of mine complained how she made a donation to PBS and they sent her gobs and gobs of solicitations forever.

3 Jan 2004, 06:50 AM	#26
DianeB Cornerstone of the Community Join Date: Nov 2003 Location: USA-South Carolina Posts: 503	Being a newbie, I don't qualify for anything except to donate, which I would gladly do. But I did want to add my thoughts to this matter. I think its an absolutely wonderful idea. Before Christmas, I saw a post about perhaps taking donations for some type charities & I wanted to post that IMO, I just feel it's so much nicer to be able to help individual people that are in need, because individuals seem to go by the wayside most times. I have my own personal experience that I would like to share. I used to be a very frequent visitor to the eBay 'User to User' Q&A Board & made many friends there. One year my hot water heater went out on me & ruined all the carpet in two rooms of my house. I went 3 months without hot water, because I had no funds for replacement or repairs. My sister lives right next door, so I had my showers over there (thank goodness!! ), & was heating water in the microwave to wash dishes. After 3 months, there was only one person online that was aware that I still had no hot water. We had become really close friends & one day when she knew I wouldn't be home, she posted on the Q&A Board about my situation & started a campaign of sorts, hoping to collect enough to get me a new hot water heater. When I got home that night, I sat at my computer, tears streaming down my face, as I saw the outpouring of caring & compassion from these virtual strangers. The PayPal donations, notices that checks & Money Orders were in the mail to me, all went straight to my heart. Yes, I had talked to them many times over, on the Q&A board, but that was the only way they knew me. And I even had 2 people that emailed me, saying if enough money had not been collected, for me to let them know & they would do whatever it took to get me hot water again. I still get chill bumps when I think of what these virtual strangers did for me. (there was actually 'more' than enough collected for a new hot water heater!!) And the ONLY thing these folks asked in return, was if I ever saw anyone in need, even if all I could donate was $5.00, to do so, in order to keep the chain of love going. I might add, before this happened, my mom had told me that I needed to get out & talk to 'real' people, because the folks I talked to online weren't real. Needless to say, you can't get much more real than what these folks did for me !! About a year later, I was able to repay my friend, by doing the exact same thing for her, when her hubby lost his job & insurance, right before Christmas, & just as she was having medical tests done, thinking she had cancer. (I've also taken up donations on some of my trading/refunding groups, when someone had a death in the family or some other type emergency). My reason behind posting my story here,,,,,1st off, there was NEVER any issue of trust with whomever was handling the money portion of the donations. I think this FM forum is much like the eBay User to User board,,,,,,folks that have been around a good while, pretty much know each other & I feel that trust wouldn't be an issue at all. Even the short time that I've been here, I would have no problem what so ever, about trusting the folks that have helped me with all my questions. People who gladly donate their time & knowledge, are people that care about helping others. I'm delighted to see that FM users are trying to help less fortunate individuals. I will most definitely keep up with this thread & gladly donate what I'm able to when the time comes. I'll let the more seasoned users decide who, what, when, etc. I just wanted to express my personal gratitude of seeing folks here that desire to help others. Diane

3 Jan 2004, 07:26 AM	#27
Jeremy Howard Ultimate Contributor Join Date: Sep 2001 Location: Australia Posts: 11,501	I'm sorry to hear about Gerry's circumstances - I was wondering why I hadn't heard from him for a while. Thanks for checking up, Kander! Don't worry about finances folks - FM users simply send gift certificates to the account we have have set up for the purpose using the FastMail.FM web interface. We have agreed in the past to match dollar for dollar all donations, which we will continue to do. I would rather see a single person take this on, rather than multiple (although of course many folks can help evangelise the program, I feel only one should administrate it). It's not a real big job - the hard bit is deciding who has genuine need. The finances look after themselves - you receive gift certs from donors, and you can see the FM account balance through the web interface. Then when you're ready to give, you just tell me and I match the current balance with our own gift cert. Finally, you send a gift cert to the lucky recipient! So the accounting takes care of itself, and all senders and recipients are automatically tracked by the FastMail.FM gift certificate system. I'd be more than happy to see Kander take on this responsibility, if he agrees, since I know from experience that he is a reliable and thoughtful gentleman. Kander, I can give you all the help you need with administration, although I wouldn't want to get involved in the decision making process - I want the program to remain independent. Diane: many thanks for your touching story. I don't think offline folks realise the relationships and communities that are built online...

3 Jan 2004, 07:39 AM	#28
kander The "e" in e-mail Join Date: Jan 2002 Location: The Netherlands Posts: 4,112	Hey all, Thanks for the story from me as well, Diane! I've got to agree with Jeremy that people who aren't 'into this internet thing' (quoting my mother) often cannot comprehend how communities really work. I can honestly say that I probably know more about the people here than I know about most of the people in my school I just wanted to thank Jeremy for his/your vote of confidence in me. I'd be happy, not to mentioned honoured, to take over this project, but only if nobody objects... wouldn't want to stir bad feelings around here... And of course we need Gerry's approval, still. --K

3 Jan 2004, 07:46 AM	#29
Sherry Moderator Join Date: Dec 2002 Location: USA Posts: 8,687	Not that you need it kander, but I sure approve and think it's great that you would/will be handling the Helping Hand project. Sherry

3 Jan 2004, 07:50 AM	#30
Gankaku Moderator Join Date: Mar 2002 Location: Virginia, USA Posts: 3,265	Kander has my two thumbs up.