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 Both wanted to remain anonymous, but also wanted
to share the story about the rent payments with the hopes that it
would inspire others to do the same or offer similar donations to
the folks who are struggling most right now – those who have
families to support and a reduced or zero income right now due to
Covid-19.
One donor stays up to date on the Logan County Community through
social media connections and reading local publications such as
Lincoln Daily News. Among friends is Lincoln resident, local
business owner and current mayor, Seth Goodman.
Goodman has a knack for soliciting support for others through social
media, and has on multiple occasions started the ball rolling saying
he would give some lucky someone some cash to help with bills or to
do some extra shopping in local stores.
With so many unemployed right now, Goodman chose to start a giving
event on social media for money to be given to someone in need. He
pledged $100 out of his pocket to one lucky winner whose name would
be posted in the comment section of his page.
Soon, others were reaching out and saying they would do the same
thing. Goodman posted the names of all the donors, and the amount
they were giving on his page, and the responses of people in need
started pouring in.
Donor one had watched this with interest, and could see that right
now the need is great in Logan County. The donor then decided that
this was a good way to help out from a distance, and that he/she
wanted to get involved.
“I contacted Seth and asked if I could use his social media
platform, and if yes, I would offer to pay someone’s May rent who
lived in Logan County. He was on board, so I sent him my criteria.
[The recipient] must be a renter, must be out of work due to
Covid-19, must reside in Logan County and payment [of] up to $500
would be made directly to the landlord.”
On April 21st Goodman made this post: “This, my friends is what I
love about Lincoln/Logan County. An anonymous donor who has strong
ties to Logan County is donating $500 toward someone’s May rent
(must rent, must be out of work due to the Covid-19, must live in
Logan County). If you or someone you know is in need, please comment
below. They will randomly select a winner 4/24/20 and will follow up
by paying the $500 directly to the recipients landlord. Be a
blessing my friends! We all need a little extra help and support
during these times.”
The posts in the comment section started pouring in. Many of these
posts included words of appreciation to the donor who had the
ability and the heart to help someone else. [to top of second
column] |
There were a number of posts of family members and
friends “nominating” someone they cared about and knew could use
this kind of “hands-up” in order to get through the time off work.
About half-way through the process, donor number one was telling a
friend what he/she was doing, and the friend decided to do the same.
Goodman was contacted with the news that a second anonymous donor
wanted to pay up to $500 for the May rent of a Logan County
resident.
Goodman posted that news and there was a resurgence
of posts, friends nominating friends hoping that the gift would help
them out in tough times.
On April 24th the two donors had a lot of options to consider. After
carefully doing so, they notified Goodman of their choices and the
winner names were posted by Goodman.
LDN asked permission to reprint the names of the winners, and we
heard back from only one recipient – Heather Thompson.
Thompson said she was overjoyed by the gift. “I just want to say
that my donor was a light in a world full of chaos!!! A huge weight
was lifted off my shoulders!!!!!”
Both of the donors are former Logan County residents. “We are both
Hartsburg-Emden graduates and are very proud of our Hartem and Logan
County ties. We both still have family living in Logan County.
Neither of us currently live in Logan County. Once the winners were
notified and we found out their rent payment amounts (one was $550
and one was $525). We both ended up paying the entire amount for
each for the month of May.”
Donor one concluded by saying, “I would just say to all your
readers, There are a lot of people in and from Logan County who have
the means to help others, if you are one of these people, consider
giving back to help a fellow citizen. While it might not be much to
you, it can be the world to someone hurting right now.”
Thank you to these two great people who respect their roots and have
compassion for others. Both are Covid-19 Hometown Heroes in our
book, and we are sure others will agree, especially the ladies who
have had one burden taken off their shoulders for the next 30 days.
[Nila Smith]
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