Anyone here willing to send a christmas card to a very ill little girl? - Page 1
Forum section: electronics / general

author: Corporate666
author_rank: Unknown
timestamp: November 27, 2014, 08:18:32 am
content: Electronics related: I am sending her a musical card which contains a circuit comprised of a battery, a small piezo speaker and a dedicated chip which plays a pre-recorded musical tone upon detecting a switch opening.Now that it's electronics related... I usually don't share these types of things, but there is a huge international audience here. This beautiful young girl is named Addie Lynn. She is 6 years old. She is suffering from cerebral diffuse atrophy as a result of an as-yet undiagnosed disease. Her body (and brain) are wasting away - she has largely lost her ability to speak and her motor skills. She has spent a lot of time over the last few weeks in hospital getting tests, spinal taps, MRI scans, surgeries, blood tests and more. There are some difficult-to-look-at pictures on her facebook page.https://www.facebook.com/pages/Little-Addie/495996650542271?pnref=storyShe does very much like receiving cards, and is fascinated by them, where they come from, who they come from. This will be her last christmas on this earth and her family have asked people who would like to do something to just send her a card. The address is:ADDIE LYNN AND SISTERSBOX 162FOUNTAIN GREEN , UTAH 84632USAIf anyone would like to verify this for themselves, please take a look at the facebook page listed above. It would be extremely appreciated and most generous if some of the great people here would be willing to send her a card. I think she would be blown away especially by cards from international EEVBloggers.If anyone is willing to send a card but unable to cover postage costs, please PM me and I will happily paypal you whatever the cost of a card and postage is.Thank you.

author: HackedFridgeMagnet
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: November 27, 2014, 08:23:00 am
content: I will try, I will look for something nice or get one of my kids to do one.Edit: Sent last week.

author: BravoV
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: November 27, 2014, 08:24:23 am
content: ... going to buy a local postcard and send it right away ....

author: Corporate666
author_rank: Unknown
timestamp: November 27, 2014, 09:28:46 am
content: Thank you guys - very much appreciated. It breaks my heart to see her FB page - the only picture of her happy and smiling is with the pile of cards from strangers. The rest are all pics of her in hospital beds.As I said if anyone is willing but unable due to $$ just let me know the cost and I will cover the card/postage. The goal is to destroy that PO box with an overwhelming stash of cards from strangers around the world.

author: Zero999
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: November 27, 2014, 10:31:07 am
content: Ah, look at the expressions on her sisters' faces too. lolQuote from: Little AddieThat's nasty. I hate people like that. The worse thing is they often pirate photographs and text from Facebook to make it appear genuine. I hope they get caught and banged up with all the other scum.

author: GEuser
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: November 27, 2014, 10:39:17 am
content: Look I'm not one to rain on the parade yet I have to type this ?Are you a personal friend of the family? or the likes , as if one perused facebook (I'm not a facebooker) there would be thousands of similar storys , float about just the net and millions , watch the news and millions of millions , so what I'm getting at if one is a actual personal friend in which one has not mentioned btw . all ok as it'll be a personal favour .If one is not a personal friend of the family , what about all the other millions ! , dave might wrap me one on the typing finger but I see a flooded forum of look here send this or that imo of course ..

author: HackedFridgeMagnet
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: November 27, 2014, 11:17:05 am
content: But Corporate666 has 1000 posts, an is offering to pay postage, there is a fair degree of trust given by that.It wont start a flood of spam.

author: GEuser
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: November 27, 2014, 11:56:47 am
content: Quote from: HackedFridgeMagnet on November 27, 2014, 11:17:05 amYou have over 1100 posts and that alone "Still" does not mean that you can read on just what the issue is ...

author: Zero999
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: November 27, 2014, 12:18:30 pm
content: Quote from: GEuser on November 27, 2014, 11:56:47 amIf you don't like it or think it breaks the rules, then click on the report to moderator button and keep quiet.

author: GEuser
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: November 27, 2014, 12:26:35 pm
content: Quote from: Hero999 on November 27, 2014, 12:18:30 pmHa Ha Ha Ha and now a 3000+ poster with "advice" , don't be a hero hero .

author: magetoo
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: November 27, 2014, 03:09:06 pm
content: Cynical and heartless people, like me, might see this and immediately think of Craig Shergold:Sick Child Card RequestQuote from: SnopesAnd there are a couple of more recent ones:http://www.snopes.com/inboxer/medical/codling.asphttp://www.snopes.com/inboxer/medical/dingus.asp(The short version is "true, but...".)On the other hand, if the Facebook appeal is still up, I guess this one is still relevant.

author: GEuser
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: November 27, 2014, 03:55:36 pm
content: Don't get me wrong magetoo , I'm not typing that there is any mis-propriety as in the op it is send a card and the offer that the op will even pay for it if need be .To explain further from my angle , the op never mentioned he was related or a friend of the family , so did he just pick that subject from a list of thousands because of sympathy ? , then why not any of the other thousands , then a possible 1 post a day for all those thousands and the never ending circle on a electronics forum .There are plenty of forums or sites around exactly for those types of causes , , now , , it would be different if the op was a family friend or so and was asking a favour from forum members to send a post card or the likes "As" a favour but nothing is mentioned at all , simple , imo ...

author: Rufus
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: November 27, 2014, 08:26:23 pm
content: Quote from: Corporate666 on November 27, 2014, 08:18:32 amI expect she will be rather bored and tired after the first few thousand.http://metro.co.uk/2014/07/26/dying-child-receives-100000-birthday-cards-and-presents-from-complete-strangers-after-mothers-plea-goes-viral-4811355/Viral stupidity strikes again. The time and money that went into those 100,000 cards could have saved the lives of several hundred children in other parts of the world - but, hey, they don't have facebook pages.

author: amyk
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: November 27, 2014, 09:56:45 pm
content: A DDoS by any other name...

author: EEVblog
author_rank: Unknown
timestamp: November 27, 2014, 10:22:02 pm
content: Quote from: Rufus on November 27, 2014, 08:26:23 pmIndeed.As nice as the intent is, lets please not post these things here, that's what Facebook if for (almost exclusively it seems...)How about donating the few bucks it will cost to my cancer research mud run instead:https://mudrun2014.everydayhero.com/au/eevblogIt's not as warm and fuzzy I know, but it will help a lot more people in a tangible and potentially longer term way.

author: Corporate666
author_rank: Unknown
timestamp: November 28, 2014, 02:10:14 am
content: Gentlemen..I didn't say "my kid is running a marathon for charity, who will sponsor him" or any of the other seeming million proposals we get for charities each year. I never said sending a card would save her life, or cure a disease. I posted the thread for a very simple reason.It is the time of year when many of us are ALREADY sending out cards, and this particular forum has a high number of international members. Considering the cost of sending a christmas card is infinitesimal, and considering we are already doing i it, it would be a trivial thing to just write one more that would likely make someone happy. That's it - nothing more.If people feel that is a lot to do, or need to rationalize a reason for not doing it - that's fine... no need to post and justify why you won't do it... it's not about that, it's just a simple request posted specifically because of the season and international composition of the forum. And please don't confuse a random act of kindness with charity - for those thinking that sending a card is somehow analogous to donating to charity, you need to get a grip and reevaluate things.And I most definitely agree that when doing charitable things, it makes sense to be sure your money is going to a charity that actually works. Many of them spend a majority of their donations on executive salaries, fundraising (lavish parties and travel), and only a small amount actually gets used for the claimed charity. Many of these charities rely on sob-stories to get donations and meanwhile offer no transparency. I am a big believer in donating time and money to charity - and I firmly believe we should never donate to any charity that is not totally transparent with their finances - including executive salaries, funds raised, what those funds were spent on and how much was spend raising funds. Some charities spend 2% or less of raised money on the charity, with the rest going to executive salaries, swanky offices and business class airfare. Any charity that does not disclose their financials isn't worth giving to - they have something to hide. Most of us do not have time to evaluate which charities are good ones, so it's wise to use a reputable charity evaluation/watchdog site to check. I like CharityNavigator.com... no affiliation, choose another if you prefer. But if a charity doesn't transparently report their executive salaries, income, expenses and an audited report on how much gets spent on the charity, then steer clear. An example of a GOOD charity (one of their top rated ones, and a clear and audited report on financials)http://www.charitynavigator.org/index.cfm?bay=search.summary&orgid=11248#.VHfW9jHF_NsHaving said that - this isn't charity or a replacement for monetary giving elsewhere. It's just a simple request for those already writing out cards (or who don't mind taking a moment to) if they could send one more, it would be a cool random act of kindness that they can see the result of on the girl's FB page... and if someone has the will but not the means, let me know and I will pay for it. Simple, nothing more asked or expected.And thanks.

author: IanB
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: November 28, 2014, 02:29:33 am
content: @Corporate666: I think many people would be more comfortable responding if you had a personal connection to the child in question, and if you were making this request with the family's knowledge and consent.

author: Corporate666
author_rank: Unknown
timestamp: November 28, 2014, 02:44:53 am
content: Quote from: IanB on November 28, 2014, 02:29:33 amThe mother is a close friend of my friend - I am not personally close to the family although I do know them. I found out about this when I met up with my friend for a Thanksgiving meet-up (for non-USA folks, today is a big holiday in the USA where families get together to eat massive quantities of food - as we Americans do). The mother did suggest that they do not need money or toys or gifts - but that the daughter has a fascination with the cards that have been sent and beams with intrigue when shown a map of where the senders are from (almost all from the USA so far).We are all jaded (myself included) with the constant barrage of requests for charity and sympathy we get on a daily basis... this is not meant to be yet another of those plays to sympathy... just knowing many of us are sending cardsanywayand many members here are international, it would be a nice random act of kindness to write one more for her - that's all.Definitely not a replacement for any charitable work or giving and certainly not a request for anything other than just a card or postcard or anything - no money wanted, requested or needed.

author: Rufus
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: November 28, 2014, 02:51:18 am
content: Give her a goat for Christmas.

author: GEuser
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: November 28, 2014, 03:45:00 am
content: Quote from: Corporate666 on November 28, 2014, 02:10:14 amNice rant and that's what I would call it , thanks for answering the question too (sarcasm) .

author: GEuser
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: November 28, 2014, 03:47:24 am
content: Quote from: Corporate666 on November 28, 2014, 02:44:53 amOut here there is a saying , "Like pulling a tooth from a chook" , now there is a answer so just what was the big secret in the first place in the op ...

author: EEVblog
author_rank: Unknown
timestamp: November 28, 2014, 04:11:26 am
content: Quote from: IanB on November 28, 2014, 02:29:33 amYes, that would be ok of course.That's one of the benefits of being a contributor to a large forum, you do kind of earn the right to post such things occasionally if you have a direct association.

author: SeanB
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: November 28, 2014, 04:42:17 am
content: Corporate is not asking for anything, and is actually offering to cover costs for postage. I rarely use Fakebook, and avoid it actively on the web ( blocked a lot of the associated tracking sites and ad servers) as much as possible. I like the idea, so will pass it on to friends who live on FB so they will send some cards from SA to her.

author: miguelvp
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: November 28, 2014, 04:44:34 am
content: He did say he has a direct connection, only 1 degree of separation.Sometimes you really have to stop being so ANALytical!He is a regular and good contributor, that's enough for me.

author: GEuser
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: November 28, 2014, 05:08:05 am
content: Quote from: miguelvp on November 28, 2014, 04:44:34 amI defy you to read the OP and show other readers where it says "I have a direct connection" ! , highlight it inbold, the only reason for your post it seems is to offer advice with a degree of separation of 1 degree including the bsandusing the wordAnalin which I do actually think that it will be good enough for you and probably often .I win ! , so now I'm outta this thread and ya'll can now drown in all ya'll misery of life ...

author: miguelvp
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: November 28, 2014, 05:10:18 am
content: Quote from: GEuser on November 28, 2014, 05:08:05 amCongratulations on whatever you won.

author: zapta
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: November 28, 2014, 05:11:13 am
content: Hopefully that little girl doesn't read this thread.

author: c4757p
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: November 28, 2014, 05:43:34 am
content: Fuck's sake, he's asking forcards. Some of you people aremiserable.

author: SeanB
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: November 28, 2014, 05:03:02 pm
content: You do know a lot of EE's are somewhere along the Autistic spectrum.............. Some more so than others.