Friend in Need - San Diego,CA

I was in this situation when a co-worker told me she had no money for thanksgiving dinner. Two of us got a very nice gift card for the market and gave it to her. She was very sweet and overjoyed to receive it. I think you should send a gift card and send a little note. You are a wonderful kind person. :)

You can have actual gifts sent directly to them from any store or amazon, they can exchange it if needed. I like the idea of it being anonymous. As a child who grew up extremely poor, everything we got was from kind people, it still was embarrassing, for me at least.

Geez, thank you for this post. It restores a little faith back in the human race after the past week. This is a beautiful gesture, especially considering you are a single mom yourself.

Of course send her some cash, or a VISA gift card from Santa. Real philanthropy is always anonymous.

Merry Christmas!

:)

I feel that you should go ahead and send her something....why not? I'm sure that she would be so grateful for anything she receives, and if the fact of remaining anonymous makes you feel better than adress it from Santa. Besides you seem like a generous person to want to help her out, and it will make you feel good inside knowing that you helped someone else out during the holidays :)

What a kind and generous person you are, it is what the season is all about. If you know the ages of the kids and its not too much trouble, I would send her actual toys for kids presents and from Santa. And include a visa or amex gift card for her from Santa as well. It's okay to let her know it's from you as well, after all, WE all ARE Santa. God Bless you! and her and her family too

Cash. In the form of a gift card. From Santa.

I would do an Amex gift card so she can use it anywhere, from Santa. It will totally make her Christmas.

I vote for cash from Santa.

A very kind gesture.

My husband and I were faced with a similar situation with an old friend a few years ago. We were close friends for a few years when we lived in the same state, but when we moved away, we lost touch with them. We reconnected on facebook. They had posted that things were tough, and my husband contacted the husband privately to find out what was happening. The husband confided that money was very tight, they were about to get thrown out of their apartment, and his wife was very sick, couldn't work, and the medical bills were killing them. He never asked for anything. My husband and I talked about it and decided that if we gave them money, we may never see it again, but that we had to help them. We sent them $1000 with just the request that they pay back when they could. No contract. The husband has sent us two checks over the years for $100 each (one drawn on a canadian bank, so we lost a few dollars in cashing it). That is all we have seen, but I know from their facebook posts that their daughter was in the hospital for numerous weeks, and the wife is still in and out of hospitals, and they never post anything that would make me think they've struck gold - no pics of vacations or presents. We don't regret the money or our decision. I hope we'll get the money some day, but we realize we may never. Nevertheless, we didn't feel right not helping them, and we have no regrets. Because of our help, they were able to stay in their apartment and eat that month.
I suspect you won't regret it one bit.

You are too kind!

Send her a gift card from Santa.

I vote for Santa! Really, St Nick, as he was known for his love for the poor.
Cash would be nice. Then Santa could pay the electric bill, if he needed to.
She might figure it out from the post mark but I still would not have a problem with sending her what you feel like sending.
Thanks for this example of the true meaning of Christmas!

I would send cash, if it were me. She may have bills to pay or need food. I think you are very kind :)

Anonymous is best. Also let them know it is a onetime CHRISTMAS gift so they are not looking for it monthly.

I like the idea of sending it from Santa. Then if she brings it up later on down the line in a personal Facebook message, maybe then fess up after the holidays.

You're a good friend.

This is very kind of you. I know many people don't want to ask for help, although I would hope it's not offensive when it's offered. I'm inclined to say gift card, as opposed to cash. Maybe to ToysRUS, Wal-Mart, Target, someplace where she could buy the gifts for her kids.
It's hard to explain, but when you need help sometimes it's comforting to know someone is thinking of you in terms of what you need help with. When I was first moved away, my Mom would send gift cards for groceries. She would say, "I know you said you can pay your bills on your own, but I thought this would just make things easier for you." I thought that was nice.

From Santa is a good idea. But if your comfortable with it, I don't think it's wrong to say it's from you and that you just wanted to help and don't want/expect anything in return. Either way is good.

Depending on how much you are planning on spending... would it be possible to get the kids some gifts and send some cash? That way you know the kids will have some gifts to open and if she needs the money to go towards other things she would be able to use it for that also and not have to choose between gifts and other things needed..

I have been in her place and its hard to spend it on gifts when you know what bills need to be paid.. that is a hard choice to choose..

You are such a sweet person for thinking of her and her kids!

Tell her about the site "Go Fund Me."
It is legit and has helped many people who are in hardship for whatever reason.
www.gofundme.com

But a Gift Card from Walmart or Target, or other big stores that is readily found in any city, would be good. That way she can get what she needs most.

Its nice of you to think of her... and want to help.
But it is an awkward situation for many to be in, and they may not want others to know, but they do need help.
They may think that they have to then do something for that person too. Which they cannot afford... to, repay. So then they do not want to tell other people or ask for help.

Would you even know where to mail her, any gift cards???

A couple of years ago we were waiting for that time frame where you aren't working but SSDI hasn't started and we didn't have gas for cooking or heat, we had used all of our food stored for emergency's, we were at the bottom of the barrel.

There was a period of about 2 weeks where every time we came home there was a bag of stuff on the porch. I got an electric griddle one night, about 2-3 days later I got a huge, HUGE electric skillet, then I got a large toaster, and even got an electric cook top that would sit on the counter top. We had several ceramic heaters we had bought at Walmart and the house was plenty warm, we also had electric hot water and dryer.

We got sacks of groceries, gifts that got to be unwrapped almost every day. For a couple of weeks before Christmas. I know some who were involved in this charity to my family and I will never forget them. They are hard working loving people who I have the most respect for in the world.

The both work hard for their money and I know this was not an easy thing for them to do. It was literally hundreds of dollars of new kitchen stuff.

I still use each and every one of the items almost daily. I don't think I will ever forget the joy of turning on our street and wondering if there would be something on the porch for us. It was truly exciting.

I think if you can do something like this, even on a small scale, then it would be totally awesome. One of my friends did the 12 days of Christmas to some elderly ladies at church. Like a can of Pineapple rings for 5 golden rings....it takes imagination and it's a bit too late but you could catch up if you wanted to.

Perhaps getting another friend involved would make it easier for this to be a fun activity for you all.

Contact the Marine Corps Toys For Tots. Salvation Army -- Catholic Charities ect.

There are numerous toy drives in most cities. Can you post these without personally sending them to her FB page? I am not a FB pro so I really dont' know.

You can find links/info on Toys For Tots and other similiar programs, post them to FB so she can see them. You can share them for all to see or custom so just she can see them (she won't know that only she can see them) and write something like "This program is great at assisting those that need a little extra help this time of year".

Then if you want you can also send her a GC for a store local to her (Walmart or something comparable that is a store and a grocery store) so it helps her but lets her choose what she uses it for. You can make it from her Secret Santa (but you may want to note it is from an old friend that just wanted to help her out without recognition so she's not "creeped out").

So nice for you to think of her.

I would send some gift cards, including one for a grocery store, so she could get what she needs most, and some gifts to go under the tree, from Santa. (One or two per child will feel like a lot.) If she figures out who helped Santa, that's OK, but I wouldn't volunteer that info. ;) Don't feel that you have to buy big ticket things or spend a lot - trust me, small things will be just as appreciated! The point of a gift is to say, "I thought about you." I don't think either you or they will ever regret it if you reach out. Good for you for wanting to help! :) God bless and Merry Christmas!