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-Steve Hall of Ad Rants decides he wants to make us all cry today. Big Jerk.

-BusinessWeek's Helen Walters writes about YOU in "The Collective Power of Individuals"

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-The Vancouver Sun talks about "The Spirit of Social Media"

-We have the account working now. Please refresh your browser. And, we are freaking out.

I've been at this blog for nearly 3 years now and have never asked for something like this—I hope I've earned enough trust to be able to ask something back from you. Above is a picture of Daniela and her family. Brandon, age 6, Daniela, age 9 and little Evelyn age 4. Daniela is divorcing her spouse after years of abuse. In recent years her mortgage went unpaid and she's lost her house.

As of this moment, Daniela's family is staying at our house and we are trying to help her find a one bedroom apartment for her family to live in. With Evelyn, her youngest having Down's Syndrome and Daniela herself being a Romanian immigrant with very little family support she literally has no one to turn to. Except us (all of us).



Daniela cleans houses when she can leave her family. I'm not even going to tell you what she gets paid—it's obscene. Right now her options are pretty limited, aside from an apartment, there is only a group shelter. Not very pretty.



Here's what we are asking. Right now, Belinda and I are opening our home, but it's tight as we have no basement. We've committed to giving as much as we can spare, diverting funds from other places. I'm asking if you could think about doing the same. Or at the very least, helping get the word out about this. We are looking to raise 5k for Daniela and her family. Enough so that she doesn't have to worry about a deposit or rent for a while.



I know this is the worst possible time to ask for anything. But would you consider the following:



1. Giving whatever you can ("Chip in" uses Pay Pal and it's very easy to donate and it's secure)

2. Spread the word. Please, please blog this, tweet this, re-tweet this.

3. Help find a donor (maybe a generous company or individual)



I don't have anything to offer back. Not an ego list or top donators directory. I can only hope that this thing we call "community" puts its money or heart where its mouth is. Please do whatever you can.

Respectfully, David and family



PS, if you don't feel comfortable using Pay Pal, please e-mail us here and we'll figure it out. And thank you.