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A bit of help for a refugee family


Brisketexan

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A car can change a family’s life.  And maybe you can help.

Many of you are familiar with the Afghan refugee family my wife and I have worked with closely over the past few years.  From their start – arriving here directly from a Pakistani camp, speaking almost no English, an illiterate mother and her two young sons -- they are now a family with a working mother (she’s got a good job for her limited skills) and two boys who speak multiple languages, doing well in school.  The oldest, M, is a star. He’s a strong student – we’re waiting to hear back from colleges (places like ACC, Blinn, and Texas State, to get him started) to see about acceptances and most importantly, scholarships.  He will be the first in his immediate family to attend college, and seeing the opportunities in front of him is exciting.  He’s constantly learning.  Including learning how to drive.  We’ve spent the last several months teaching him to drive, and he’s just about ready to test for his license.

So, what’s next for this family?  In addition to M hopefully starting higher education in the fall, a car would make all the difference in the world.  They use Austin’s limited public transportation to go everywhere.  And while mom has a job that keeps them in a small apartment, with food on the table, there’s no money for anything else signficant, certainly not a large purchase like a car.  As I'm sure y'all recognize, having their own transportation will dramatically improve their position.

My family is fortunate, I make good money.  We have set aside several thousand dollars for this purpose, but we’re working to match what we’ve personally set aside and gathered so far.  From our research, we could get a decent Toyota Corolla or Hyundai Elantra with manageable miles (maybe 70k or less) for around $8,000 (and we're happy to take advice on other alternatives, or if someone has a decent low-mileage car they'd like to sell for a good price, let us know).

I’ve come to this well before – I’ve asked this community to help this family and others.  You may recall that the generosity here two years ago helped this family bridge a period of being unable to afford the rent on their small place, getting them to a place where making the rent is no longer something they’re afraid of.  I asked y’all for help when we loaded up to help folks after Harvey, and you came through in spades – we helped several families clean out their houses, find storage units for their remaining belongings, and simply gave out numerous gift cards to give them a leg up on starting over.  So, in spite of my often negative outlook on humanity as a whole (the ledge and all that), I do believe in the goodness of this particular community.  So, I’m making the ask:

PM me if you’d like to contribute towards getting this family their first set of wheels.  I’ll share Paypal or Venmo information with you there, or you can even send a check (old folks like Armybrat, that was for you).  It’s not tax deductible.  It’s not through any charitable outfit.  It’s just straight-up gathering money to buy them a reliable car.  Anything left over, we’ll apply towards insurance costs.  And whatever the case, my wife and I will personally cover the insurance until M is making enough money (and a car will open up some work opportunities for him) to pay for it himself.

Y’all are a bunch of assholes.  But you’re good assholes.  Thanks for anything you decide to do on this.  And if you aren't into it, that's fine, too. 

 

* Oh, and if this isn't the place for this post, of course the mods should feel free to move it.  Just seemed like it fit here better than anyplace else.

Edited by Brisketexan
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2 minutes ago, immamac said:

GoFundMe takes funds - this is a small tight knit community and Brisket can be trusted as he is personally involved with many on the site including myself. Direct donations will be better than using a site to accomplish this

That is my thinking. Immamac knows me personally, we have exchanged funds electronically between the two of us on several occasions.  And that's how we've raised some funds on here before -- just direct donation to paypal and Venmo, with all funds being used (and then some -- I've never collected donations for anything that we weren't already donating a good sum to ourselves).

That said...if a Gofundme is what it will take, we'll do that (just hate to give them a cut)

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1 hour ago, Cajun said:

Well, if you're gonna go around bein' all logical and making sense Brisket...

PM me your email and I'll Zelle you some bones, or clams, or whatever you call them.

Just don't forget to hand me the ringer, chop chop!

Check your PMs.

27 minutes ago, Neonmoon said:

Pics of Corolla?

AdamCarolla_Facebook.gif

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4 hours ago, immamac said:

GoFundMe takes funds - this is a small tight knit community and Brisket can be trusted as he is personally involved with many on the site including myself. Direct donations will be better than using a site to accomplish this

I wasn't trying to imply that he wasn't 

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18 hours ago, mulletpelini said:

CSB back when checks were still used, if I was writing one to someone who I felt could deal with the snickering at the bank, I'd add "sexual favors" to the memo line and await their response upon deposit.

I wasn't as bold.

Lat22 and I would put "Friendship Dues" in the memo.

Looking back there were a couple of smoke show tellers I should have written, "Cock Reduction" for.

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We're actually getting there -- several of y'all have generously stepped up, and it is truly and genuinely appreciated.  A few more folks chipping in, and we should be able to get over the finish line (and hopefully be able to buy the first couple of months of insurance, even).

Thanks -- y'all are some good assholes.

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4 hours ago, Brisketexan said:

We're actually getting there -- several of y'all have generously stepped up, and it is truly and genuinely appreciated.  A few more folks chipping in, and we should be able to get over the finish line (and hopefully be able to buy the first couple of months of insurance, even).

Thanks -- y'all are some good assholes.

I PM’d you yesterday. Haven’t heard back yet.  What’s the venmo?

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