"Help a DUer @ Wishadoo!": Sunday 11/14/10

OneGrassRoot

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Sun Nov-14-10 09:42 AM
Original message

"Help a DUer @ Wishadoo!": Sunday 11/14/10

Edited on Sun Nov-14-10 10:28 AM by OneGrassRoot

Required disclaimer: The administrators of Democratic Underground have given permission for one discussion thread on this topic.
The administrators of Democratic Underground make no claims regarding the legitimacy or illegitimacy of this fundraising effort.

Just imagine what you could make happen, just by deciding to help. Maybe the revolution doesn't come with a warning after all, maybe this is the revolution. ~ DUer, asdjrocky

Skinner recently gave permission to make posts on a regular though judicious basis to bring your attention to DUers in need at Wishadoo's Wishlist. I'm going to post OP's such as this once or twice a week regarding Wishadoo~ings, and once again invite DUers to add their own needs and offerings to the Wishlist!

If you are a DUer and want me to shine a spotlot on your Wishlist post in a thread such as this, please PM me; not just for fundraisers, but for any type of need or offer you may have.

Thank you, Skinner! :)

You guys came through AMAZINGLY for DUer asdjrocky, who now has teeth (:bounce:) and feels like he can go out into the community again with pride and work toward giving back and paying forward.

:yourock:

If you missed this amazing DU effort, you can read here: http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=389x8949586

Your efforts above, and the general premise of Wishadoo, have been dissed by Glenn Beck on his show, so let's show him and his followers what truly compassionate communities can do (more at the end about this).

Today I want to bring your attention to DUer, MagickMuffin. Her crisis has also involved lack of affordable dental care and brings her to the point of asking for help, which is so very, very hard to do.

Many of you won't recognize the name, but she has been here since 2004 and is close with a group of long-time DUers who will gladly vouch for her and the validity of her Wishlist post. She isn't actually on DU much because she is out doing the work of electing local democrats at the grassroots level in Texas. She and her husband have volunteered their website services to many local grassroots democratic causes and campaigns.

Here is some background information on this DUer, in her words, so you'll know who you're supporting and helping out:

"I have been a solid Democrat since I've been able to vote. I've been a Liberal and Progressive ALL my life. I became a Precinct Chair back in 2008 because my precinct didn't have one and wanted to make sure everything worked out smoothly. On election day in 2008 I worked over 16 hours to make sure democracy ran its course. Unfortunately, my precinct voted for McCain overwhelmingly. I still don't understand why, as my precinct is almost below the poverty line. Lower middle class.

I renewed my Precinct Chair position this year and will renew for 2012. This March I was called an Election Nazi by a T'bagger for telling him he needed to be quiet after he continued to blather on about how he had all the change he could stand. The republican's did nothing in my defense. Because of this I felt let down and made sure the Election Admin of our county addressed this behavior in our training session.

This year's election ran pretty smoothly and even got a little bit of help from my republican poll workers when the city pulled up my campaign signs I had put up at 4:00 that morning. My precinct lost again to the republicans. :( I won't stop trying though."

Here is a link to the Wishlist post for the background information of her needs:

http://www.wishadoo.com/listing/view/id_61/title_UPDATE-Dental-Needs-Revised/

If you want to go straight of the fundraising page, here ya go:

http://www.giveforward.com/magickmuffindental (note that there is a "widget" for those of you who have blogs, are on FB, etc., to spread the word!)

I'm a firm believer in multitasking and approaching problems from multiple levels and directions.

I believe we can:

1. Help a fellow DUer, even by many of us giving $1 or $5�whatever we can for a fundraiser. PLEASE REMEMBER, IT'S NOT ALWAYS ABOUT MONEY. Providing resource information, suggestions, a shoulder to lean on...providing help in a multitude of DIRECT ways is what Wishadoo! is all about � it is soooooo not just fundraisers even though that's been the focus thus far here at DU.

2. Help others along the way in our communities (online and "real" world) in many different ways as we go about our daily lives, even if we're struggling to stay above water ourselves. We can gather at Wishadoo! to connect with the focused intent of creating Compassionate, Cooperative Communities and invite other groups and individuals along the way to join us there as well. (I'll explain more about the vision of Wishadoo! in the next OP, beyond the Wishlist feature, and how we can brainstorm to help groups like DU and other networks you belong to create a new way of doing things at the grassroots level).

3. Work to change the system, the failings of which lead to such dire needs and suffering!!! Work towards social justice.

4. As a group here at DU, come together to get KO and Rachel Maddow and others on board to create a free clinic tour focused on dental/hearing/vision needs, and to focus on raising awareness about poverty and homelessness and the myths involved with this critical issue.

Also, if you know of dentists and other professionals who might want to be part of the Wishadoo! Community and offer pro bono or prorated fees, please send them my way! :hi:

For today we start with one step at a time, one DUer (or a few) at a time�.

Thank you!!!! :hi:

(Please note that I will be posting a campaign soon for Wishadoo! itself, as I need to raise funds for some programming tasks and legal issues so I can finally do a full launch and blast the site and roll out many other features and tools you aren't aware of yet. Until MANY gather � including those with resources (time, skills, funds, advice, etc.) � the needs certainly are overwhelming.

Please also note that the campaign/fundraiser for Wishadoo! will be called the "I Choose�." Campaign, and is directly in response to Wishadoo! being dissed by Glenn Beck on his TV show and my way of responding to the hateful followers who have been attacking me these last few weeks. This campaign will provide a way for us to show those with completely different worldviews how we CAN come together to create AUTHENTIC COMPASSIONATE COMMUNITIES with a cooperative, collective approach. They can scream socialism all they want; it's the right thing to do! And, hey, I'll be offering gift ideas for the holidays as a way to raise the funds I need to launch Wishadoo! and expand the features.) :)

(If you have questions or suggestions, please PM me or email me via Wishadoo; if you have questions for MagickMuffin, you can contact her directly here at DU or via Wishadoo.)

edit for clarity