More Amazing People! Deb and Jeff

We received a call from a woman who had been following our blog for a while. Deb and her husband, Jeff, were in the process of moving and had some extra things they no longer needed. Instead of donating them to a local charity where they could receive a tax write off they offered them to us to help with projects. They believed in what we are doing and wanted to help us continue the good work. Jeff even dropped the items off at our house. They donated painting supplies, yard tools and other miscellaneous construction items that will definitely make continuing to do what we do easier in the future.

A heartfelt THANK YOU to Deb and Jeff!! We were overwhelmed with your generosity and it just shows us time and time again, how many good people there are in the world.
Thank you so much and we wish you the best on your next stage in life.

We've Got Time to Help is asking for help

It's ironic, I suppose, that Michelle and I (Seth) have been avoiding, at all costs, asking directly for help for us. We tell people to call or write us if they need help. We extoll the virtues of asking for help and counting on us and all of our neighbors to help meet your needs. We firmly believe that everyone should feel comfortable in asking for help from neighbors, both known and unknown. And yet, we put it off asking for help for a million reasons. Fear. Doubt. Frustration. I guess it's time that we practice what we preach. We have a link of the sidebar that says that if you would like to donate items, please contact us, but we haven't ever created a post about it.

Please understand and believe us when we say any donations we get will go directly to We've Got Time to Help projects and we are not asking for personal gain. That is not who we are or what we are about.

So, here's the deal. We need lots of tools, equipment and other various items, so that we can continue to help everyone that asks. We were hoping not to do this but the times we are living in make it necessary. Michelle and I (Seth) are asking for donations of any kind and we have put up a "wish list" for our community organization.

Everyday, we are getting more and more requests for help, and we find ourselves in need of items that Michelle and I can no longer afford to purchase or rent on our own.

Some of the items on our wish list are big items. We understand. But, it can't hurt to ask. Maybe someone doesn't have a need for it anymore and wants for the item to go to good use. We have been able to do so much good already, and we will continue to do so even if we don't get a single donation. We will always do whatever we can to help others in need.

Also, please know that we have done (and will continue to do) everything we can to raise money. Odd jobs, sold personal items on craigslist, selling homemade bird food, and we use any extra income (from Michelle's job) for We've Got Time to Help. We are trying our very best.

Here is our wish list:

Painting supplies - Paint Brushes, Rollers, scrapers, tape, etc.
Yard/Garden tools - Gloves, shovels, rakes, hoes, trowels, pruners/loppers, etc.
Drywall tools - Mesh tape dispensers, joint knives, taping knives, trowels, etc.
Plumbing tools -Wrenches, auger/snake, pipe cutter, etc.
General/Power tools- drills, hand saws, hammers, sockets and wrenches, clamps, tool box, etc.
UPDATE 5/26: We had a wonderful woman donate some garden tools and a 16' aluminum ladder! Tall (16 or more foot) ladders

Supplies/materials that we could use:

Lumber - 1x4, 2x4, 2x6, 2x8, etc. - We could also use fencing material and hardware
Roofing - we have a couple of smaller roofing jobs, but we cannot afford to purchase the materials
Ready-mix concrete and mortar
Hardware - All types of screws, nails, nuts and bolts, etc.
Joint compounds (mud) and tape, caulking, etc.

Here come the really big items:

Pickup Truck - When we started this, we didn't know that we would have a need for one so quickly. We thought that we could wait for a year or two, but we underestimated how many people were hurting out there.

(UPDATE) 5/26: We now have the rights for wevegottimetohelp.com and .org. We will be working on it for a few weeks and hopefully have it up and running sometime in June.
Website - A website would be so much more user friendly than the blog. We could put so much more information on it and be able to help that many more people.

Laptop - When we are out on projects, we are not near our home computer and there have been too many times that we have missed an emergency email or we need to find information for a project or we need to post a quick call for help.

Major tools - Lawn mowers, weed eaters, chainsaw, edgers, trimmers, air compressor, nail guns, power saws, etc.

If we could get some of these items, we would be in such better shape. We don't want anyone to feel obligated to donate items. We just thought that maybe there were some unused items out there that could be put to some great use. Basically, we need just about anything you can think of as our project list is extremely varied (and continues to grow).

Thank you so much to those who have already donated items and money. You are truly wonderful and giving. Normally, we would go without rather than to ask for such grand items. But in this case, if we can get the items we need, we could literally help hundreds and (and eventually) thousands more. If you can donate, please contact us at wevegottimetohelp@q.com and let us know!

Thank you again to everyone who has donated time, energy and goods to help those in need.

Business Fair - April 3rd,4th and 5th

As you may or may not know, We've Got Time to Help is going to be at the New Chances Vendor Fair at Jantzen Beach this Friday 5pm-9pm, Saturday from 9am-9pm and on Sunday from 9am-6pm.

We thought this might give us a chance, not only to meet some new volunteers, but to get the word out about our group and what we do. The more people that know about us, the more people we can help. This is a chance for us to not only tell people about what we do, but to try to explain why this world would be a lot better place if we all lived by "Pay It Forward".

Anyway, so if you like, come down and talk to us. We would love to meet some new friends!

See you there!

Here's how you can be a part of this...

...just email us or call us (both our phone number and email address are on the right-hand side of this page and also at the bottom of the page). Let us know that you want to help. Let us know that you are ready to go out into our communities with other volunteers and start making a difference in the lives of those who need it. We will not accept payment from the people we help and we do not give money out. Most of us are unemployed and can't afford to give any of our money away. What we do give is time. Time and hard work. Time and dedication. Dedication to ourselves and our neighbors.

You can remain anonymous, or you can have your picture and name on our blog. You can help with every project or just one. You can choose to do physical labor or you could help with office/computer/phone work (we don't do fundraisers). You could volunteer to make food or drinks for project volunteers. We need everyone involved. No job is too small.

As for the projects themselves, again, no project is too small. We have helped people with simple things like fixing a leaky pipe under the kitchen sink or dropping off food to a needy family. We have some bigger projects, too. People who need major electrical and plumbing work done. Painting. Home repairs. Gutters installed. We will always do our best to help those who ask for it.
This is a horrible time economically for a lot of people. Too many people are being left behind while the economy worsens everyday. Jobs are being lost and lives are being harmed. We have all vowed to not let that happen anymore. Not on our watch. We will all do whatever we can, when we can, to make a positive and (hopefully) long lasting effect in people's lives.

Please join us. We (the volunteers) are having a get together this Wednesday the 11th of February and we would love to have as many volunteers come as possible. Most of the people coming are new to We've Got Time to Help and haven't been on a project yet. This will be a chance for most of us to share our ideas and experiences, to brainstorm about how we can best help those in need and to meet each other and see the excitement that we all share.

Not affiliated with any group other than Humanity.

Community Works!!!

Well, we are back from helping deliver furniture and household goods to a family in need. It was great! We had 3 volunteers show up, ready to help in any way they could! Thank you so much to Lynn, Hall and Trevor for all your help! A Big Thank You to all who donated items as well, including Margena, Aelinn, Lynn, Linda, Hall and Trevor!!

Just a few minutes ago, we received an email from the woman who called us for help. I could go on and on about what we did today and why we did it, but I think that I'll just let her letter speak for us all.

To see what started this all, just click on this link http://wevegottimetohelp.blogspot.com/2009/02/call-for-help.html and read the original posting.

Needless to say, this letter quickly brought us to tears. Here's the letter:

"Hi Seth, Michelle, et al.... I want to thank you ALL for the help, hard work, and loading/unloading/moving you did for my friend today!!!! It was amazing! I was overwhelmed with all the items donated including food, clothing, furniture, time, hard labor, vehicles, etc.

Thanks to you who wrestled with not one, but TWO sofa sleepers up a flight of stairs, into an extremely narrow entry and into place inside the apartment! Whew! Only Giving and Generous People could do that! Thanks for getting everything set up, cushions in place, table reassembled, chairs in place, baby clothes, tiny little shoes, and even the food brought in!!!!!! You all were fantastic!

Networking works! Community works! Love for your fellow "man" works! I saw it in action today!

My friend's doctor told her to go home and rest, no delivery today. She has another appointment at the hospital to deliver on Tuesday! The original due date was for Valentine's Day. But the kid wants "out" early I guess.

She got home around noon. She thought she was in the wrong apartment! For the first time since I've known her, she was speechless....and that's no small feat!

Like me, she could not stop saying thank you. The girls pulled her by the arm into their room and said, "Look! Our room is not empty anymore!" She called her mother and told her what happened and her mother told her to call me "MOM". She stated that her daughter has a mom in America now....Mom #2!

Again, thank you all for making this happen for her and her small, but growing family. The girls were delighted! The teenage boy was delighted! She and her SO were delighted! And all of you made it happen for them.

THANK YOU SO VERY MUCH!!!! YOU ARE AWESOME!

Count me in as a member of your "giving" community. I wanna be like you when I grow up!

Love to you all!
Lynn"


Here's a couple of photos from today. Please join us!!

Michelle, Seth, Trevor and Hall. Thanks, too, to Lynn for taking the photo!

Trunks, hatches and beds were packed full of items!!

Trevor was able to fit 3 couches in his truck alone! Thanks Trevor!!

Tomorrow morning

Well, tomorrow morning (Saturday the 7th) is when we are making a delivery of household items to the family in need. We are very excited. If you plan to join us or you have other items to donate to this family, please let us know. We will be leaving our house (email for address) at about 8:30 am. If you can make it, we would love to have you!

As far as we know, the family is unaware of our efforts.

We have a sofa/love seat, dining table (no chairs, though), a coffee table, a stroller, food and some clothing for the family. All of these items were donated by people who just want to help. You guys and gals are great!

A BIG thank you to all that have donated time and items to this wonderful cause! Please join us.

Call for Help!

Update: A big thank you to all who have emailed us with your support! We are delivering some furniture and other items to this family on Saturday morning. Anyone that would like to come along, has any household items or if anyone has another truck, please email us and let us know. We will be leaving our home at about 8:30am. Thanks again!!


We've had our first Call for Help. It's a woman in her 20's and she's got custody of her 3 siblings (2 sisters and 1 brother). She is pregnant and just got laid off. She is in need of anything to do with a home. Household items, furniture, food or clothing. Is there anyone out there that can help? We are not asking for money or for anyone to go out and purchase any items, just asking if you have some extra items around your home that you don't use or need.

If you can help, just let us know. Email us at wevegottimetohelp@q.com

We are a making a delivery on Sat. the 7th of Feb. A friend (of the woman) purchased a couch and love seat for her, and made the request for a truck to deliver the items. But, we would like to do more for her. We are looking for any other items that might be of use. Her baby is due next month and anything that you could contribute would be awesome!

Please email us at wevegottimetohelp@q.com or call us at 503-953-6018.

We've Got Time

Hello to everyone! My name is Seth and my (long time) girlfriend is Michelle. We are a couple in our mid-30s and we live in NE Portland (Gateway Area). So, if you read the sidebar, you kind of get an idea of what we're about. We are not trying to organize the world. We are just trying to help others with nothing expected in return. This alone will give us an overall feeling that we did something that matters. Just getting out of our homes, away from the job searching for as little as an hour or two a week improves our outlook.

The thing that will join us together is desire to help. Nothing is too big or too small.

Why does it take a disaster to draw people out to help? Do we need a snow storm? Do we need a Hurricane Katrina? Why are we not able to do this on a daily or weekly basis? Every possible career path has been affected by the current economic times. There is no profession that has been unscathed. We are doctors, plumbers, electricians, cooks, homemakers, woodworkers, roofers, dentists, students and every other profession that you could fathom.

Let’s get this started. No matter how small it may appear it makes a difference in another person’s life. You do not have to join us in any of our projects or ideas. Thank you for visiting this blog. If you don’t want to join us in our endeavor to make our communities back into Communities this is fine. Maybe you would like to spend your time helping out your neighbor or volunteer at your child’s school. Every thing you do, every little step you take helping others can bring great personal rewards.

You may think you have no skills that would be useful. Bah humbug!! It could be helping the retired neighbor take in their groceries from their car. It could be someone to organize and maintain a phone list of others that are willing to help. Maybe you have a chainsaw in the garage that you can’t personally use but if a tree falls on someone else’s home you can lend it to another who can help cut the tree up. Everything large and small makes a difference. Maybe you speak more than one language and can translate for another who wants to help.

You could be an unemployed roofer or a person who has had their roof replaced in the past and has an extra bundle or two of shingles lying around the house. Put those two together and you just helped someone who had a roof that was leaking. This is a grass roots cause. There will be no monetary payment. Knowing you can and are helping others in your low time will show you that you are worthwhile and do have something to give this world and to your community.

We are just as new to this as some of the people visiting this site. We have done some volunteer work in the past but it was very minimal. We’ve Got Time to Help now, so we are going to give it our best.

Anyone and everyone has something to offer. Race, color, religion, sexual orientation, politics etc. etc. None of that matters here. People helping people is all that matters.

Thanks for stopping by. We are going to host a get together/meet and greet at our home on Wednesday, February 11th, 2009 from 11 am-3pm. All potential volunteers are welcome to stop by, introduce themselves and let us know about any special skills or equipment that you have that we can use to make our community better. You don't need to bring anything (except a positive attitude!) and we will be making lunch for everyone. This will be very informal and will just give us a chance to plan our first "outing".

Please let us know that you stopped by or send us an email at wevegottimetohelp@q.com and let us know if you can make it to the gathering (it would be great to know in advance so we know how much food to make). Thanks again and we hope to see a lot of you on the 11th!