Local charity benefits. Are they popular in your community?

[tinfoilinfor2005]

Just returned from a benefit for a 32 year old restaurant chef with inoperable lung cancer. He has a wife and a two year old kid and no insurance.

Small community but we raised thousands of bucks in auctioned donations and food and booze, as well as the local celebrities in the dunk tank, etc. etc.

Here are my questions:

1. Are these kinds of benefits popular throughout the country these days, or are they pretty much a "small community" kind of thing?

2. Are local benefits taking place of the financial support that people used to get from employee benefits or government assistance?

We all gave willingly and generously, and had a nice time to boot. But I am just curious about the shift in responsibility. Maybe it's a good thing, and we should all be our brother's keeper. But when my time comes, I think I shouldn't want to depend on the kindness of strangers. When can we start expecting our hard working employees to reap the benefits from our country that even the smallest of nations guarantee their citizens?

[Horse with no Name]

1. I think they are a local community kind of thing

Everytime we have a family that has a house burn down or tragedy, the local bank sets up an account so people can donate to the fund.
Also local BBQ's, change jars at convenience stores, raffles, benefit concerts.

[Donnachaidh]

2. have only seen *1* in my area in the last five years

and I live in Repub country.

[photogirl12]

3. In Upstate NY

The ones that I have heard about are like what you mentioned and they will also have an auction of items donated by local businesses.

[LA lady]

4. Common here

We have had 2 in my VERY small town in a year. One for a firefighter with ALS (Lou Gehrig's) and another for a little boy with a neck tumor. Both raised 15-20,000$. Both families had excellent insurance, the money was for travel to medical facilities, child care, meals out, etc.

These have gone on here as long as I remember.

[justgamma]

5. Very common in eastern Ia.

along with the coffee cans near the checkout counters. That's just sad, that in the richest country in the world, people have to resort to that.

They're having one next week for a local hurt in Iraq. (travel expenses.)

[Blue Diadem]

6. I've seen 2 in the last month..small communities

ie: recent fundraiser for a young boy, insurance does not pay for his medicine and I've heard his parents pay in the tens of thousands of dollars a year for it.

another: a dinner fundraiser for a man who is ill the next town over. I happened to see a small article in the newspaper for it.

My husband and I have spoken about this..that it seems we are seeing more fundraisers for medical bills. We both tend to think it's because some insurance companies are not paying, people are reaching their maximum insurance or some just don't have insurance. While it's a wonderful gesture for the community to help, there needs to be a government program to help. It could happen to any of us.