Nurse the Hate: Hate Charity

A friend of mine told me about this local charity started by one of his friends. THis guy had cashed out of a successful business, and decided to take a portion of the windfall to help people in need. His goal is to provide instant financial help to those that need a quick fix. Example: If a single mother needs $400 to pay for her bed ridden child's medicine, the charity cuts a check. Generally these are quick one time solutions for under $1000. There's a small staff of women that read through the applications for help, and apparently these women might be a little too soft a touch. It seems like they can't say "no" to anyone.

Eager to see if this theory was true, I drafted a letter and dropped it in the mail yesterday. I wanted to create a scenario that exceeds how much they usually give to the applicants, and simultaneously test the empathy of the charity staff. I am VERY interested to see how they react.

Here's the letter...I took the organization's name off it to make sure no one gets in touch with them to tip them off. This needs to be a pure reaction. I put Leo's name on it in case anything goes horribly wrong. He can survive in prison. I can't. (If against all odds we get the money, I will give it back. At least I think I will.)

The Letter

Leo P. Love
P.O. Box 771101
Lakewood OH 44107
216-XXX-XXXX

Dear XXXXXXX,

It is very awkward for me to write to your organization for help, but I don’t feel as if I have anywhere else to turn. I have two young daughters, Lindsey (7) and Jessica (9) that attend St Mary’s in Lakewood. As you know, tuition costs have escalated over the years. It also hasn’t helped matters that I was recently laid off from Ford in a position I have held for eleven years. I haven’t been able to find full time work in eleven months, but I continue to feel that God has a plan for me that He has not yet revealed.

Last Sunday started like any other in our household. We always spend the day together as a family, and last weekend was no different. The girls were busy in the kitchen cutting up our “Sunday Salsa” for watching NFL Football together, and my wife Nancy prepared our Sunday dinner. We are all big football fans, and usually spend the day watching NFL games and enjoying each other’s company. Sometimes I even make little bets on the game to heighten our enjoyment. It’s like that radio ad with Randy White that says, “It’s always more fun when you have a little action on the game.”

Last Friday I spoke with my brother in law Mike, who is an orthopedic surgeon in the Miami area. He has an old roommate he went to medical school with that is the Miami Dolphins team doctor. In the course of our conversation, Mike tells me that the Dolphins quarterback Trent Green is suffering from a torn ligament in his throwing arm and won’t be able to start this Sunday. I don’t know what you know about the Dolphins, but their backup QB Cleo Lemon is a complete bum. There is NO WAY he could lead the team to victory over the Jets, especially on the road. It really seemed as if this was my chance to get our family out of our financial situation in one fell swoop. It was like a sign from The Lord. In this life, you don’t get many chances to turn things around, and this seemed like the biggest break I had ever received. On Saturday, I went to the bank and took out what was left of our savings (and the girls tuition money) and called a local bookmaker to bet on the Jets minus the 3.5 points.

Sunday afternoon was a little tense in the house as the girls must have sensed my apprehension at kickoff. The only thing that kept me together was seeing how cute the girls looked in their little Jets cheerleader outfits that Nancy had made them the night before. I first noticed a problem when I saw Trent Green warming up on the sidelines during the pregame. I immediately fired a call into my Brother In Law and said “Mike! What the heck is going on here partner?!? I thought Green was a scratch!!!” Mike, as usual, tried to deflect the blame to his old school buddy, and claimed to have no idea what was going on. (Between you and I, Mike tends to try to always make it seem like other people are to blame for his problems. This wasn’t the first time he’s really screwed me on a deal. He just can never seem to take responsibility for his actions.)

It was really white knuckle time for the whole family as the game started. Still, Green was hurt and as you probably know, the Jets always cover at home in September versus a divisional opponent . We all felt pretty good at halftime with the Jets out in front comfortably. I’ll never forget when we all had a good laugh when little Lindsey said “Daddy, looks like I’ll be able to go to school on Monday.” It even looked like a lock well into the fourth quarter with the Jets up 31-13 with eight minutes left. Then, for no apparent reason, Trent Green started to light up the Jets secondary. They score a touchdown and then get a two point conversion! Why they even went for two, I’ll never know. Now it’s a ten point game with the Jets trying to kill the clock. Instead of picking up a few first downs, they just bang it into the line three times and punt! Then Green drives the Fish down the field, and they score a TD with a minute left…Jets win by 3, and I lose by a half point….A HALF POINT!!!

It was the worst afternoon my family ever had. When the Dolphins scored, I threw a beer bottle through my Sony plasma TV, and my wife started screaming at me. “How could you! How could you?” Sure, when the Jets were up 31-13, she was very supportive. But now? Suddenly I’m the bad guy! Me? She agreed with me the game was a lock. She was right there on it. Now here comes the second guessing…We were screaming at each other and the girls were crying in their rooms. It was truly the worst of times for all of us.

It’s very difficult to write you this letter, but like I said, we have nowhere else to turn. The girls tuition is due next week at $4315 each. They really love their school, and the public schools in my area can’t come close to giving them the education St Mary’s can. Is there any way you could provide our family with $10,984? That would cover the cost of the girls tuition as well as a new replacement Sony SXRD rear projection 55” HD television.

Thank you for your time, and God bless you for the work that you do!

Leo P. Love