2020 Hometown Heroes

2020 Hometown HEROES Magazine LINCOLN DAILY NEWS May 14, 2020 Page 227 COMMUNITY: WE’RE IN THIS TOGETHER! O n April 24th, two local ladies learned that their house rent for the month of May would be paid by two anonymous donors. Both donor one and donor two are Logan County natives who no longer live in the community, but do stay in touch with their roots. 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 Anonymous donors make Covid-19 struggle a little easier for two Logan County residents CONTINUED u