All good things must end...

Dear HelpVera community –

Some of my friends celebrate Christmas, others celebrate Hanukkah, Solstice, Kwanzaa. Some of my friends belong to faiths that do not celebrate in winter; others are atheists. And we’ve probably all felt ambivalent about the holiday season, at one time or the other.

But this holiday season is different - we made a huge change in a life of one family. How often can you say that? “I saved someone.” Well, you did. We all did.

Vera's words


And so we come to the end of our fundraiser. I was told that when we started this, some donors thought, “That would never work.” And then we amazed ourselves.

In folklore, the donor figure often has a role as important as the hero’s. In Cinderella, the Fairy Godmother appears miraculously to grant pumpkin transportation, dress and footwear to a despairing child. In the Russian fairytale Morozko, Father Frost finds an orphan girl freezing in the forest, and showers her with rich gifts. But there are other fairytales. The girl finds herself trapped by the witch, challenged with some impossible task, like sorting grain from lentils. To her rescue come a thousand helpful mice. Each tiny donor sorts a single grain; come morning, the work is done, and the girl is saved. Together, these mice are mightier even than Father Frost.

We gathered over 30,000 dollars. That's thirty thousand dollars. Enough to get Vera out of trouble with her mortgage, fix her sewer, provide cushion, provide dinner, medical, and even cat treats. The detailed treasurer’s report is coming up. Meanwhile, have a very happy $_Holiday, regardless of ethnicity and creed. And if you haven’t seen it yet, here’s “Validation.”

Much love,
Rose