** HELP a DUer: Show What Community Really Means **

[OneGrassRoot]

23. You're very kind Doremus...

and I appreciate you taking the time to respond.

My personal situation is like so many these days: a struggle each day to maintain food, shelter and utilities. Nothing fancy.

I lost half of my income over a year ago and haven't been able to get more work; having struggled for so long before that, I have no safety net whatsoever. (In addition to social entrepreneurial ventures, I have always kept food on the table by doing transcription/marketing/PR for medical clinics, as well as freelance writing and editing projects. One of my two big accounts went out of business, hence my income being cut in half.)

Growing Wishadoo!, with the intention of generating some revenue -- it is a social enterprise, after all -- has been very difficult given the daily struggle. (It's amazing how much time and energy it takes to look for work these days; much more than actually DOING the work, imho. And, of course, anyone who has started a business knows how much time, energy and resources that requires over the years. I haven't worked less than 60 hours a week in some capacity since 1993. I have had one week-long vacation in that same amount of time. I don't mind working hard; I don't know how to do otherwise, quite frankly.)

As mentioned in the OP, if others would please help spread the word about Wishadoo!, that is what would help tremendously. I still believe positive word of mouth via social media can be worth more than any traditional advertising budget.

Ideally, if I could find a handful of sponsors/partners of integrity to help sustain Wishadoo (and me) as I continue to develop and expand, that would be almost miraculous at this point. But it's a Catch-22 in that obtaining such sponsors/partners is less likely until the community itself is larger and more established.

So, helping me grow Wishadoo! is how others can help me at this point. Other than a patron or wealthy benefactor or freelance work to help keep my head above water, there's no way anyone can help my personal situation. I just want to see what I've been working toward get to a point of sustaining me on this planet. Again, I don't need much and don't ask for much; simply to be able to afford to exist.

I'm far from alone. There are tens of millions just like me across the US. Ideally, some of these projects I want to develop would create jobs and income for others as well.

I need an oxygen mask for myself at the moment.

Sorry to whine, and that's probably too much information, but hopefully that answers your question. Thank you again for asking.