After the Boston bombing, recovery...and fund-raising

May 30, 2013 10:49 AM

"Two weeks ago, it took a team to lift [Mery] Daniel from bed; now she can walk 100 yards on her own. But she is also fatigued and frustrated, six weeks after a blast at the Boston Marathon tore through her legs...Now she has a new worry: Making up for lost time fund-raising."

By the time Daniel came forward in May, many victims had raised at least $50,000, including about a dozen who had collected six figures and a few closing in on $1 million. That is separate from the more than $35 million contributed to the nonprofit One Fund, expected to disburse at least $750,000 to each amputee.

posted by gottabefunky (6 comments total)

In my Rhode Island town, someone printed up t-shirts to raise money for the One Fund. My friend Deirdre volunteered to manage the orders, but as the requests poured in she despaired. She reported at once point over 11,000 orders were headed for her garage!! A situation that any Girl Scout cookie mom would have seen coming a mile away...

I am not sure what fraction of the ten bucks per shirt that will go to the fund, but it demonstrates that people want to help out in some way. Yes, I understand that if everyone in town donated all that $110,000 directly it would have more of an impact, but this worked, too.
posted by wenestvedt at 10:56 AM on May 30, 2013

Damn this country that getting your medical needs met has devolved into a contest of publicity, where the victors are those that can best play the game.
posted by Windigo at 11:13 AM on May 30, 2013 [15 favorites]

Holy crap. Thanks for linking this and bringing it to my attention.
posted by roomthreeseventeen at 11:33 AM on May 30, 2013

Beg for your life.
posted by srboisvert at 11:58 AM on May 30, 2013

Thank you for the link. I had wondered who this woman was, who appeared in the photos but not in any of the survivor coverage. Very sorry to learn that she lost her leg.
posted by torticat at 5:32 AM on May 31, 2013

I was in the same boat as torticat, regarding Mery Daniel. I spent a lot of time looking for news about about the woman in the red jacket. She was very close to the first bomb. In the pictures, she was right in front of Jeff Bauman. It's so upsetting that her life and career may have been completely derailed by this awfulness.

When no fund appeared for her in the first week or so after the bombings, I assumed that she was trying to maintain her privacy. Now that her story has come out, it's so unfortunate that she's garnered so little personal interest, in comparison to some of the other victims. I hope that changes. It's bullshit that she should have to play the fundraising popularity contest, to get the assistance she needs.
posted by Coatlicue at 7:24 AM on May 31, 2013 [1 favorite]