This is a known scam and has been reported on many different sites for the past 3 years.  I'm really sorry to hear that you fell for it.  There are bad people out there that prey on the misfortune of others.  They did this to make a quick $3,500 profit at your expense.   People who fall for this are desperate and the scam artists know that, and take advantage of it.  If you were flush with cash, you would probably have questioned it.  You took the money and didn't give it a second throught that it could be fraudulent.  The best thing you can do now is get the message out and warn others so that the same thing doesn't happen again on Aidpage. 

I do what I can to help a few families out with groceries from time to time in my community.  It is unbelievable how much the cost of living has been going up lately.

I haven't been on this site for a few months.  I tried to log in a few times while the site was being upgraded, but it wasn't ready yet.  I've been very busy the last few months, but am back now and looking forward to exploring the upgraded site.  I hope everyone has a pleasant holiday season.

I'm from Columbia Heights, just northeast of Minneapolis. Aidpage and other sites like it do have a good share of scammers. It is unfortunate, but there are those out there that will take advantage of people in need. The best case with utilities is to stay in contact with your utility company and pay something. Most of them will work with you to avoid shutoffs in the first place. In your case, it is too late for that. It is highly unlikely that anyone from Aidpage will have a large amount of money available to pay that bill off, although not impossible. You can get your gas service reconnected without paying the full amount if you work out a payment plan with your gas company. I believe you have to pay 10% of your income under that option. Please review the Minnesota Cold Weather rule. Here is a link to the Minnesota Public Utilities Commission web site: http://www.puc.state. mn.us/consumer/assist/coldrule .htm Please review step 13 regarding the 10 percent plan. You need to contact your gas company, I'm assuming Centerpoint Energy, and get the process started now. If you and the company cannot agree on a payment plan, the Minnesota Public Utilities Commission will help you mediate a solution. Once you have worked out a payment plan, you can have your service reconnected by October 15, 2007. I hope this helps you. Craig
Minnesota Public Utilities Commission

I've been visiting this site for a few months looking for someone to help with basic needs in my own community. Most people here are in need of help and very few are offering it. I doubt that you will be able to find the extensive help you need here. However, you never know as this is a public site and you don't know who is reading your help request. In my opinion you would be better off to talk with fellow fire fighters in your own community and let them know you are in trouble. Perhaps they would do a benefit to raise money to help your family. I've seen fund raising benefits in my own community where funds were raised to help families with major needs.

The tooth is abscessed and it is putting pressure on the nerve. This is usually the result of a cavity that was not fixed in the early stages. The only way to fix this is a root canal or pulling the tooth out. If you know a dentist or can go to a free clinic ask for a prescription for 40 capsules "Clindamycin" 300 mg 4 times a day. That is an antibiotic that works especially well with infections in the mouth area. A 10 day course will get rid of most of the infection. Along with that take 600 mg of over the counter Ibuprofen every 4 to 6 hours to reduce the inflammation. With this combination, the pain will go away in 2 to 3 days. I believe that you can get the prescription filled at any Walmart for $4.00. You still need the dental work done, but this will buy you 30 to 90 days time to arrange for a root canal.

What state are you located in?

I like to do volunteer work and help with children that lack basic needs.  I love children, but have none of my own.  I have helped out several single parent familes around the holidays for the past few years.  I've found that some families need ongoing help all year and not just at the holiday season.  I have been a public school employee for 22 years, and serve on a local church board.  I prefer to help someone directly without going through an organization.  I've done volunteer work before for organizations and was surprised at how much of the donated funding was spent on administrative expenses, and how little went to the recipients.   I really like the concept of Aidpage. 

I emailed you about this. I have extra items I bought at after Christmas sales, and can help with groceries and basic needs. I'm from Minnesota and do volunteer work on a regular basis.

Thank you for your comments. I never send cash either. Some of these pages may be scams, but I'd like to believe that most of them are real sincere people. I have sent items in the mail before to needy families listed on another similar site, and found some of the items appearing on Ebay. For this reason, I tend to focus on on families within 60 miles of my home town where I can verify the need. I have made some friends this way and stay in contact with 4 of the families I have helped. Some of them are in need of additional food and household supplies almost every month. I find that things tend to get worse for these families when school is out for summer vacation. The school lunch program is shut down for 3 months, and that puts a further strain on their food budget. I have also focused on trying to help some of these families become self sufficient. I've showed them how to save money on their grocery bills, changed all their light bulbs to compact fluorescent to reduce electric bills, and other improvements. This has made a little difference in all cases, but some of these families may never be completely self sufficient. In most cases I've observed, the biological father is absent and does not pay child support at all, or at least not on a regular basis. It is really hard on these families when they are expecting a certain amount of income, and it doesn't come. Also items that are minor to me, like a car part needing replacement, are a major hardship on these families. They have absolutely no savings, and anything that goes wrong outside of their normal month to month bills rapidly becomes an emergency. Craig