Is this happening in your town

[cowboy43]

I have noticed in our town that people are constantly having benefits for a loved one that has a medical problem. Either selling food from their house or in front of a business , some times they don't list a reason , just selling meals from their house. This is starting to happen more since the Hispanic population is growing and all the names doing this are Mexican names. I wonder how many are legit or are they just by-passing city codes under a false pretense.
I do not understand how they can have medical expenses with Obama Care covering their cost or they can go to a medical care facility or hospital and do not pay anything but I have to pay full cost.

 

[M-5]

Ive seen and helped a few that were severe cases most of them are for travel expense and day to day bills because of the severity of the illness and a spouse or parent cant work because of having to care for ill person.

 

[TCRanch]

Ive seen and helped a few that were severe cases most of them are for travel expense and day to day bills because of the severity of the illness and a spouse or parent cant work because of having to care for ill person.

Ditto. But most of the benefits here are fairly large & advertised events. We have a great hospital but major medical procedures usually require traveling to one of the large metropolitan hospitals/specialty centers, etc & expenses add up quickly.

 

[TexasBred]

I have noticed in our town that people are constantly having benefits for a loved one that has a medical problem. Either selling food from their house or in front of a business , some times they don't list a reason , just selling meals from their house. This is starting to happen more since the Hispanic population is growing and all the names doing this are Mexican names. I wonder how many are legit or are they just by-passing city codes under a false pretense.
I do not understand how they can have medical expenses with Obama Care covering their cost or they can go to a medical care facility or hospital and do not pay anything but I have to pay full cost.

If the food is good buy a plate and enjoy your lunch. ;-)

 

[Jogeephus]

Car washes are a big thing here. Had one set up next to my office and they washed a bunch of cars and probably made a bunch of money for "their church group". I should know because I got stuck with an $800 water bill from the city and not a soul asked if they could use my spigot. Since this made me mad does this make me a bad person? After all, it was a church and all.

 

[Ryder]

Send them the bill.
Seeing as how they are a church I'm sure they would not intentionally take advantage of you.

 

[Clodhopper]

How long did this carwash last? Was it a multi-day event? That seems like a lot of water for a one day event.

 

[HDRider]

Car washes are a big thing here. Had one set up next to my office and they washed a bunch of cars and probably made a bunch of money for "their church group". I should know because I got stuck with an $800 water bill from the city and not a soul asked if they could use my spigot. Since this made me mad does this make me a bad person? After all, it was a church and all.

No,, makes them bad if they didn't ask or offer to pay it.

 

[greybeard]

Those kinds of benefits have been going on here for as long as I remember, an from every group you can imagine.VFD, Knights of Columbus, car wash because the Dali Lama needs new sandals, 4H/FFA BBQ, high school band trip, church missionary program breakfast, and as you mentioned, "Mr ______ _____ got hurt in an auto accident/has cancer/house burned down and needs donations" type thing.
They even had a benefit/donation drive of some kind so our old locally owned hometown movie theater could switch over to the modern digital format. He would have had to close if he couldn't raise the $$ to modernize.
(The owner allows area churchs and youth organizations to show movies there as well--free admission to the public--it's been here since 1939 and hasn't changed very much except from Texas to Texan)

I've had some really good BBQ and fried fish at some of those fund raisers

 

[Jogeephus]

Send them the bill.
Seeing as how they are a church I'm sure they would not intentionally take advantage of you.

If you knew this "church" you'd think different. They are using the same business model as Jim and Tammie Fay Baker. Thankfully they have moved on.

 

[cowboy43]

The reason I am suspect of these benefits is because I know 2 events when they took the money and did not pay any medical bills they just took the money , one other collected thousands and when and bought a new double wide, paid no medical bills. Their is no one responsible to monitor what is done with the money.

 

[greybeard]

Can't be any worse than the multitudes of "gofundme" requests for every purpose imaginable.
Heck we even have a guy right here at CT (in Beginners section) trying to find monies for a crapload of USDA grade labels. :lol: :lol:

 

[Bigfoot]

I'm ashamed to say, I support very few individual fundraisers. The wife and I buried one of her family members, and we're glad to do it. Good guy, and worked his whole life. He deserved a proper funeral. His kids were kinda worthless. They had few fundraisers to help with burial expenses. We never saw a dime of it. If they can live with it, then I can live without it. Not sure what percent of personal fundraisers are bogus, but some definitely are. It takes away from people that actually need help.

 

[Commercialfarmer]

Pretty common in the hispanic population. A daughter of a lady I work with had one of those type dinners. She's was going to go on a medical mission trip to South America this winter I believe. There was a requirement that she had to raise so much of the money for the trip by doing fundraisers- couldn't just be direct cash donation. She's a nurse trying to get into Baylor med school. Great girl. She was invited to go by a doctor she works with and is apparently the only student that isn't in med school already. I think I ordered 3 plates.

I'm ashamed to say, I support very few individual fundraisers.

I'm a pretty hard nut to crack myself. I have to be convinced that it's a legitimate cause and one I feel a calling to support. Which is pretty few. But I'll be happy to help when I think the cause is legitimate.

 

[Kingfisher]

The reason I am suspect of these benefits is because I know 2 events when they took the money and did not pay any medical bills they just took the money , one other collected thousands and when and bought a new double wide, paid no medical bills. Their is no one responsible to monitor what is done with the money.

Do you live in Lockhart?

 

[Craig Miller]

I don't give to hardly any charity cases but when I have I consider the money gone and don't give a rip what they do with it. They have to live with it. Not me.

 

[Clodhopper]

We have a lot of community sponsored fundraisers in our area, and by that I mean a 2-3 county area, not just a town. These are usually organized by someone outside the family, and normally people turn out in droves and open their wallets. I have given quite a bit myself, even though I'm far from wealthy. I know of at least one coming this month for a young woman who was in a bad wreck, she will spend months in the hospital, with a husband and young daughter at home. I guess we're all a bunch of suckers that way.

 

[Clodhopper]

I'll add this too. I know of one questionable guy who claimed to have cancer, and a benefit was organized. $15,000 was the number I heard was raised. He took his family and the money, and flew the coop, moved away for several years. Obviously a sham. When my Baptist preacher uncle was diagnosed with terminal cancer in 2012, he and my aunt were in the process of remodeling a house to move back home to, after retirement which was fast approaching. The Baptist association men decided to pitch in and finish the house for them. The work was headed by the dad of the crook who skipped the country, a good honest man, who was a member of uncle's last church.

One bad apple shouldn't spoil the whole barrel.

 

[SteppedInIt]

I think fundraisers are great. We support local kids teams, or church youth groups going to camp. If I cant see what they are fundraising for, I keep moving. I would much rather see them working for it, selling a plate of food or car wash than just standing at the stoplight with their hand out.

 

[M.Magis]

The reason I am suspect of these benefits is because I know 2 events when they took the money and did not pay any medical bills they just took the money , one other collected thousands and when and bought a new double wide, paid no medical bills. Their is no one responsible to monitor what is done with the money.

I'm curious how you know whether they paid medical bills or not?

It's a very common thing around here.