VOTE- Grant/ Gulf Coast/Re: Children Deal With Gulf Oil Spill Stress Too

[Guest guest]

modestneeds.org

This is an amazing organization of people helping people. They are

currently # 6 in the $250,000.00 Pepsi Refresh Grant to help newly unemployed

persons living in the Gulf Coast. THIS IS NOT A REQUEST FOR MONEY-ALL YOU NED

TO DO IS VOTE FOR THEM ON THE PEPSI SITE AT

_http://gulf.refresheverything.com/gulfmodestneeds_

(http://gulf.refresheverything.com/gulfmodestneeds)

DAILY UNTIL AUGUST 31.

I've personally have followed this charitable organization for a number of

years and I know people who have had their request for assistance

funded.in the matter of days.

____________________________________

From: newsletter@...

modest.needs.news@...

Sent: 8/6/2010 11:35:40 A.M. Eastern Daylight Time

Subj: Refresh the Gulf Update: You & apos;re making a difference!

Good morning, everyone!

The last thing I want to do is flood your inbox, but Holy Smokes! I just

have to share this update with you. By the way, I tried to send this out a

minute ago, and you guys got so excited you crashed our server, so not

everyone received this update. If you're getting it a second time, I

apologize - it if weren't important, I wouldn't resend!

Yesterday, we announced that we were in the running for a $250,000.00

'Refresh the Gulf' grant from Pepsi. At the time our newsletter went out, we

were ranked number 24. To get the grant, we have to be ranked AT LEAST

number 2 by 31 August 2010.

Well, in ONE day, your votes have propelled Modest Needs' proposal from

number 24 to number 7! And that's in just one day! In fact, we jumped from

number 11 to number 7, just while I was writing this note! I knew our

community could pull together, but honestly, I can hardly believe my eyes! I

hope you're all as proud of us as I am.

Now, knowing that, imagine how quickly we can get to number one - and stay

there - if everyone takes just a second to click Modest Needs' vote button

once a day, every day, for the next 25 days. It's the best one minute of

your time you can spend over the next month!

So, how far up can do you think we can move Modest Needs' grant proposal

today? Let's find out! Please take two seconds to visit

_http://gulf.refresheverything.com/gulfmodestneeds_

(http://gulf.refresheverything.com/gulfmodestneeds) and vote for Modest Needs'

proposal right now! And don't

forget - this grant is all about the voting numbers. So tell your friends.

Send a tweet. Post to your Facebook or blog. Put a link to our grant

proposal in your email signature, just for a month. Together, we CAN make a

difference! I think we proved that yesterday, don't you?

In closing, I have just three quick notes for you:

First, about four thousand people yesterday - yes, really - asked

yesterday if we would be willing to send out a daily reminder to vote, and some

indication of what our current rank is. Personally, I think that's a great

idea, and we're happy to do this.

So, every day for the next 25 days, if you subscribe to the Modest Needs

Newsletter, you'll be getting a two-line email once a day. The first line

will show you our Pepsi Refresh Grant ranking. The next line will have the

direct link to our 'Pepsi Refresh' grant page. This will make voting easy

for you, and after this month, newsletter volume will return to its normal

once or twice a month.

Remember, this is only for the next 25 days, and these emails will be both

short and limited to one per day. We've always done our best to keep

email correspondence to a minimum, so we hope that, as we work towards this

VERY important goal, you won't mind getting a daily reminder to vote. But, if

you don't want that reminder, you can either just ignore it, or you can

easily 'opt out' of our newsletter by following the instructions below. But

please don't do that with so much at stake. You want to be reminded to help

us get this grant, right?

Secondly, many of you called or wrote yesterday because you said you

weren't sure if your vote for Modest Needs had 'counted. Here's how to tell if

it did:

When you log in to Pepsi's website, you'll hear the sound of a Pepsi being

poured. This sound doesn't mean you've voted - it means you've logged in.

Once you hear that noise, you STILL have to click the 'Vote' button for

our proposal. When you do, the 'Vote' button will disappear, and you'll see

a green box that says 'Thanks.'

That's how you know your vote has counted - and I know that with

$250,000.00 on the line, you'll want to make SURE your vote is counted if

you're

going to take the time to vote, right?

Finally, I want to thank those of you who made contributions yesterday to

Modest Needs, just in response to our sending out the newsletter! Folks,

as you probably know, we're fielding a record number of applications right

now, and your contributions to Modest Needs right now mean as much to our

applicants as your votes for this grant proposal do. In fact, just

yesterday, you funded nearly $10,000.00 worth of applications. Amazing!

If you want to make a difference to someone who needs our help to remain

self-sufficient, you can do so securely, in two seconds or less, just by

visiting _https://www.modestneeds.org/donation/online_

(https://www.modestneeds.org/donation/online) You can then tell us which

applications YOU most

want to see funded. Your direct contributions - whatever you can spare right

now - are a GREAT way to make a difference right now as we work to make a

tremendous difference in the lives of thousands with this Pepsi grant come

September 2010. And honestly, our current applicants really need your

support, just as much as our friends in the Gulf do.

So please, if you're inclined to help, it would mean the world if you'd

do, well, just whatever you can at this time. And if you were inclined to

make a small monthly pledge, well even better!

***

Ladies and gentlemen, I am just absolutely blown away by what we were able

to achieve just yesterday - not to mention this morning - when it comes to

our Pepsi Refresh Grant! I hope you're as excited as I am, so, please,

let's keep the momentum building. Vote now. Tell your friends. Do

everything you can to 'spread the word.' And then, you'll be able to watch

with

pride as, in September, we show people what we mean when we say 'Small

Change: A World of Difference' at Modest Needs.

Thanks so much for reading this quick update. Have a wonderful day, take

care, and happy voting!

Warmest Personal Regards,

Dr. P.

Chief Executive Officer

Modest Needs Foundation

_http://www.modestneeds.org_ (http://www.modestneeds.org/)

'Small Change: A World of Difference'

(212) 463-7042

=================================================

If you believe in the power of human kindness to change lives, please

consider making a tax-deductible contribution to Modest Needs.

You can make an instant, secure contribution of ANY size in 60 seconds or

less by visiting https://www.modestneeds.org/donation/online

Remember, the work we do at Modest Needs is funded exclusively through the

generosity of persons just like you. Without your support, this work would

not be possible.

=================================================

If you're in need of short-term financial assistance, please visit

http://www.modestneeds.org/help to request assistance from Modest Needs.

We'll do everything we can to help you in your time of crisis.

=================================================

All contents © Modest Needs Foundation.

http://www.modestneeds.org

" Small Change: A World of Difference "

All Rights Reserved

>

> Children Deal With Gulf Oil Spill Stress Too

>

> by The Associated Press

>

> GALLIANO, La. August 6, 2010, 06:00 am ET

>

> Nine-year-old Zack Wilkerson spent a good chunk of his summer on the computer

watching video of undersea robots try to fix the oil spill in the Gulf of

Mexico.

>

> It wasn't his first choice, but the oil that spewed into the Gulf about 100

miles from his Galliano, La., home kept him from going fishing with his dad or

to the beach with his family. As he prepares to start fifth grade on Friday, he

wonders if some of his friends will be gone, their parents leaving the small

towns on Bayou Lafourche because the fishing and tourism jobs are gone.

>

> Mental health professionals are concerned about the toll this summer of

uncertainty could be taking on kids like Zack and his friends.

>

> Parents who have seen work slow down or stop are being forced to cut family

budgets. Those lucky enough to find temporary work helping clean up the oil

spill now face the prospect of those paychecks ending. And mothers and fathers

who hoped to pass down traditions linked to the waters their grandfathers and

great-grandfathers trolled wonder if that way of life has been spoiled forever

by millions of gallons of crude.

>

> " I keep hearing about it, " Zack said of the oil spill and the daily updates he

gets from his dad. " Sometimes I wonder if it will ever end. "

>

> A survey of 1,203 parents commissioned last month by the Children's Health

Fund found a third of children along the most impacted area of the Gulf Coast in

Louisiana and Mississippi have experienced physical or mental problems because

of the spill set off by the April 20 explosion of an offshore drilling rig.

Their parents reported they are having behavioral problems, acting depressed or

nervous, and having trouble sleeping and getting along with other children.

>

> About a quarter of households fear they might have to move to make ends meet,

and the same number also reported a drop in income, according to the survey

conducted for the New York-based fund by the National Center for Disaster

Preparedness at Mailman School of Public Health at Columbia University.

>

> The group first came to the Gulf nearly five years ago to see how Hurricane

Katrina affected children. A study soon to be released found deep psychological

problems persisting after the storm devastated the region. Then came the oil

spill, adding more stress for many of those same children, said Dr. Irwin

Redlener, president of the fund, which provides health care for low-income

children.

>

> " It's actually round two of psychological trauma for these communities, who

also in the back of their minds are already worried about hurricanes this

season, " said Redlener, who plans to bring doctors to the Gulf in the next few

weeks to provide physical and mental care for the children who are suffering

nightmares or other stress, or who have rashes, breathing problems or other

physical effects from the spill.

>

> The survey's findings were no surprise to Zack's mom. While Pat Wilkerson has

kept her job as a security guard at Port Fourchon, the gateway to the oil rigs

in the Gulf, and her husband is a contractor for BP, they have both had friends

who have lost jobs.

>

> " You wait every day for the boom to drop, the ax to fall, and one of us to

lose our jobs, " Wilkerson said. " They have to know we're stressed. "

>

> Summers used to be filled with trips to the beach less than an hour away at

Grand Isle, but the oil has kept the Wilkersons — and many others — from the

sand and surf. The Children's Health Fund survey found nearly 85 percent of

parents along the Gulf have stayed away from the water because of the spill.

>

> The oil also has kept the Wilkersons from fishing, and that, too, has put a

strain on their finances.

>

> " That seafood would help stretch our food budget. But we don't have anything

left in the freezer, " said Wilkerson, as she waited with her son and 5-year-old

daughter to pick up free school supplies being given out this week at Galliano

Elementary School by Louisiana first lady Supriya Jindal.

>

> Austin Verdin was waiting for supplies, too, and shyly smiled as Jindal handed

him his backpack full of notebooks, folders and pencils. But he hasn't had a lot

of other reasons to be happy about the summer between fourth and fifth grades.

>

> Austin's dad, , was working as a fisherman. When the waters closed

because of the oil spill, he fell back on his commercial driver's license and

took a job with a trucking firm, according to his wife, Elana Verdin.

>

> He would much rather be on the water.

>

> " We love the water. He was raised on it, " Verdin said. " He loved going out

there and spending time with his dad. You wonder if that kind of thing is gone

now. "

>

> Fishing isn't the only industry where the future is uncertain.

Melancon, a senior biology teacher at South Lafourche High School, said the rig

explosion that killed 11 workers and an offshore drilling moratorium that

followed have some of his students rethinking career paths that might have

otherwise led out to the giant oil rigs in the Gulf.

>

> " They would ask, 'Is there going to be a job for me?' They are trying to

figure out if they should stick around or go somewhere else, " he said.

>

> Melancon, whose district was cash-strapped even before the explosion, has his

own worries about whether his job is secure. He was standing at the school

supply giveway in the Galliano school gym with his 8-year-old son and

10-year-old daughter, waiting in a long line that snaked around a basketball

court with the finish peeling in numerous places. About two-thirds of the

school's 430 students showed up.

>

> Jindal, the mother of three young children herself, said she wanted to give

them something to look forward to after a summer of worry.

>

> " My children have all kinds of questions about the oil spill, " Jindal said. " I

can only imagine what these parents are having to explain. "

>