I spoke with my friends at TES today, asking how they are doing. They are so grateful to every single person who has sent in even 1.00 because all these 1.00 add up. Sherry mentioned WS & how grateful all of them to the members. Sherry stated to me she didn't know how many members WS has ( nor do I) but she knew it was a lot. She said if even half the members sent in 1.00, it would go such a long way to helping TES continue to help families locate their missing loved one.
The sad facts are, donations are down. Tim Miller knows how very hard it is for people to find an extra dollar to send in when so many can not pay their bills. He also knows the pain of having a loved one go missing, wanting to help, wanting other s to help & resources not being there. Tim Milller has a huge heart, look into his eyes, as I have, and you can see his pain as he is organizing another search, hopeful you can bring a loved one home, either to their famlies waiting arms or with answers & a way to say goodbye. I would imagine he relives those final days of saying goodbye to his beautiful laura, over & over with each search.
For many, the first time they had heard of Tim & TES was with the Caylee search as many ( most) cases TES does are not so high profile. We have all heard how much that search drained the funds TES had. I don't think they have ever been able to make those up, to get even, let alone a little ahead. For me, if TES does not recover the funds by increasing donations, it will be a shame. For me, that is like CIndy Anthony standing in her drive way giving Tim the middle finger, with her daughter standing beside her, shouting " F U Tim Miller." I don't want them to win at anything & if a family has to be told "no" b/c there are no funds, then we have all let the Anthonys win.
While I hope every single member will send in at least a buck, I also think there are ways we can help increase those donations. How many people in your church, neighborhood, pta know about TES? I think the more we educate those who know us, the more help we can get.
Last year I suggested dumping all your spare change in a jar & at the end of the month, send it in. You would be surprised at how much that could add up. Put a change jar on your desk, letting co workers know what the spare change is going for. Have them look at the website, talk about it at lunch with your peers, esp now that children are in school with so many walking. Not only would we be educating them about safety but we would also be educating them & spreading the word about TES.
I am a proud member of TES & consider Tim a friend of mine. I would go anywhere he asked for any search, anytime.
Can I suggest that each of take several envelopes, address them to TES, keep them where you do your bills or church tithe & just make it a habit, a good habit, to give whatever it is you can afford to give. Even at a dollar, seeing that envelope come in every wk with the same kind person s name on it has to be uplifitng.
If I could do nothing but travel around to be a speaker on TES & educate, I would do it. As it is, I already tell everyone I know about them.
Let's all band together for Tim & show Cindy it from the goodness of strangers hearts that the money was there to allow the search & it will be from the goodnest of hearts that allows us to continue.
Thank you
Proud to be a TES Member