We have successfully matched the Kune’s Family Foundation $20,000 Matching Grant. We have also nearly completed the distribution of this matching grant to those most in need in our communities. We will soon share with you where every penny was spent in providing poverty relief. Thank you for your generosity that is providing life changing assistance for so many in need.

Dear W.C.,

My daughter is in great need of some help. She escaped an abusive relationship that she had tried to hide from me for three years. I have hardly seen her for the past two of those years as the man she was with had her move out of state with him and never allowed her to visit me. I went to visit a few months ago when my daughter suffered a miscarriage, and he would not let me stay with them. I noticed suspicious bruises on my daughter and that she kept her arms and legs covered at all times. She was extremely thin and would hardly make eye contact with me. Even after losing a baby this seemed so unlike the bubbly and happy young woman who had left home just a few short years ago. I finally had a chance to speak to her alone and asked about what I suspected. At first, she denied any abuse but then she hugged me close and whispered to me that she needed my help. She was too afraid to say it out loud even though we were alone. Finally, after a week when her abuser went to work, I picked her up and immediately drove straight through to get her to my home. We drove over 20 hours and only stopped for gas and a flat tire. We contacted law enforcement and when they showed up to question him, he threatened the officers with a gun. Thank God he is now in jail with multiple charges, including domestic violence. My daughter and I could really use your help with my rent and utilities because I had to take so many days off work to help my daughter. She also needs a bed and other daily necessities. She is regaining her physical and mental health after so many years of abuse and the recent abuse that caused her to lose her baby. She is actively looking for a job, but it is not easy without any references for the past three years she was not allowed to work. We will continue to live together to save money and so I can continue to help her heal.

Dear Readers,

I contacted the mother who wrote this letter requesting assistance for her daughter. We set up a time to meet at her apartment after she got off work.

When I arrived at the apartment building the mother met me at the entrance and we walked in together. She prepared me for her daughter’s possible response to our conversation as she was not sure what to expect. She had been through a physically and mentally traumatizing time so I assured the worried mother that I would be patient with her.

When we walked into the apartment the daughter would not make eye contact. She looked at the floor as she said hello. It took some time before she would finally look up and when she did, I saw the grief and even fear in her eyes.

We went over the financial aspect of what the women had been through. The mother lived paycheck to paycheck and the additional expenses were straining her already overdrawn budget. The daughter was sleeping on the couch as they could not afford a new bed. The daughter had left with only a few items of clothing, so she would need shoes and clothes when she began a job. The mother had stayed in the hotel longer than she had planned on so she could get her daughter away when the abuser was at work. The mother also had to replace a tire on her way back and the three remaining tires were in bad shape.

I went over some suggestions for the women’s budget and then shared with them what we would be able to help with. We would bring their utilities up to date, pay two months’ rent, provide a new bed, gift cards for clothing, toiletries, bedding and shoes. We also would provide new tires and some overdue routine maintenance on the mother’s vehicle. I also had a lead for a job for the daughter where I knew they would be understanding of her lack of references and her quiet character. The daughter assured me she knew she needed to work to help her mother go forward and she would call about the job immediately.

The daughter was the first to cry. She hugged her mother and swayed as she thanked her mother over and over for saving her and then thanked The Time is Now to Help for saving them. This brought me to tears as I watched the two women comfort each other after so much pain and suffering they had endured.

Thank you and God Bless You for making this and all our poverty relief efforts a success. Thank you to the Kune’s Family Foundation, and all of “You”, for your generosity and support of our poverty relief efforts!

Health & Happiness, Love & GOD Bless Everyone, Sal