Many of us were not on this forum nor even knew of OCF when Rosie made here famous but ill fated pitch for $10. That contest had been closed for over a month before I joined all those posts ago. IMHO it wasn't Rosie's approach nor plea, it was the stupid set up - requiring you to get a "badge" and then you had to do American Idol tactics of multiple enteries under different email addresses and enlist others in a complex hassle.

So, here is a fast, simple, no hassle way to show your support for OCF. GO TO THE OCF FOUNDATION LINK AT THE TOP LEFT OF THIS BOARD, AND BECOME A MEMBER (PRICES START AS LITTLE AS $50 TO JOIN AS A MEMBER WITH ONLY A $25 RENEWAL FEE).
I am retired, and have massive medical bills even with great insurance due to deductibles and a $6,000 requirement before catastrophic kicks in. Not a penny of my Dental bills to fix the radiation damage is paid for by insurance and I have tried. Their policy is straightforward - unless I can find an oral surgeon who does root canals and crowns and is willing to falsely bill BC/BS -I am SOL. My retirement 401K that I need to draw down to pay the bills looks more like a 101K. I have a son in college and am the sole breadwinner in our family (my choice and insistence) So I know how hard it is. But I just got my tax refund so I immediately joined. Trust me every $50 helps. You can join as a more expensive member for $100, $200,or $250 - JUST JOIN
I am going to steal PBS' soapbox here and say that if you are reading this, and you want to read more posts, then you need to show your support for OCF. Unless you are a curmudgeon like myself who has to wait a full year to see if he can stand an Internet board or deal with the personalities of the frequent posters (I ditch almost all of them within 9 months for too much flaming, too little flaming, too much cheer, too little cheer, too much moderator involvement, too little moderator involvement) Those of you who follow my posts can see where this is going ;)Like in Goldlocks: OCF is JUST RIGHT on all counts
Just can't spare that Ulysses S. Grant? CLICK ON DONATIONS AND GIVE $30, OR 20 OR $15 OR Rosie's $10 David probably saved you way more than that with his tax tips and help.
I push for membership because when big buck donors evaluate causes they want to know not only donations but membership numbers. I seriously doubt OCF has 5941 paying members but that is how many of us are members of the board, Brian could make it mandatory to pay to play - he doesn't . C;mon Uncle Sam's return of confiscated money is a time to rejoice. Spend a tiny portion on OCF. You will feel better. I do

This is a good idea Charm....I'm with you. I will be donating soon....if we didn't have this site I don't know what I would do. Thanks for making this a point.

Fax or e me your "stuff" and I'll prepare and e file your U.S. and state returns for free if it includes a refund donation to the OCF.

That is really "above and beyond" the call of duty David, you are one of a kind.

For David, CPA means Cancer Patient Angel

Talk is cheap...I need some returns to do. If you can't get your stuff together before the 15th, I'll file an extension for you and all I need is your and your spouses' name, address and SS#.

Very nice of you to do this David. Hope some people take advantage of your generosity.

I made a donation last week and will continue do so every month. Having this site means so much to me. The help I have received here is priceless. If I can be of some help, I will!!!

Suzanne

You go above and beyond with that donation program But then you do above and beyond in life too

Everybody else
Only about 6 weeks left before all the refunds have been sent out so you won't be seeing this sticky post for much longer
Seriously, with the TEA PARTIES all over Fox news, never a better time to share some of that refund with OCF. If there were any real economic justice, OCF would be getting some Stimulus money. But there's not, just us. So if you just filed, please consider making a donation or joining
as ever
Charm

Charm - You're a master salesman - I couldn't resist your plea, even tho we DIDN'T get a refund and had to pay out even more (perhaps I should have had David do our taxes!), we donated to OCF anyway. It helps so very many people and is a genuinely worthy cause. Thank you.

I agree...Charm makes me want to donate what I can.

Lostpassword

THANK YOU for responding and donating plus the kind flattery. I love your screen name. Actually you are doing it right, as refunds are just interest free loans to Uncle Sam.
Hope you inspire the rest of OCF posters to donate also,
Peace and Love
Charm

Charm...how are you doing these days? Is there a thread about you that I missed maybe?

Thinking of you...suzanne

Suzanne

Well at least someone is still reading this sticky post.
C;mon the rest of you posters, the last of the refunds will be going out soon and this post will VANISH.
then I will update my signature line to show my Cyber Knife treatments right after Memorial day and ending on June 1st plus my carboplatin chemo treatments. Just had to wait until I recovered enough from the surgery to deal with the complications of radiation and chemo the second time around. Still can't swallow, not even a sip of water despite rigorous swallow therapy and the radiation is going to set me back even more. So nothing new to report.
If you do donate or share your tax refund, please let me know just as Suzanne and LostPassword did. And someone start thinking about a new "sticky" post asking for donations in a different way that may work better than this one apparently has. Genetically, no one in my family has gotten the knack of being a big time fundraiser instead I ended up just like my parents who just bought the wrapping paper or candy from me after I had tried unsuccessfully to sell them in the neighborhood, and I did the same with our son. So surprise me and donate

As I typically extend well over 50% of my total client base each year and this year with 58% extended proved no different, we still have a huge number of people that will be filing their returns and some will contain a refund.

Point is there is still a need for this post until Oct 15, 2009 and my offer still stands that I will prepare for FREE anyone's return where the refund substantially goes to the OCF.

Well, I must say I was surprised to see a post referencing my ill-fated and famous(!?!) plea for $10 donations, but it got my attention and I just made a $50 donation. Thanks for the reminder. It has been awhile since I made my last donation.

It has been more than 5 1/2 years since Heather died and I don't visit these forums much anymore. I come here tonight with a request for a friend. I'm going to start a new thread, because it isn't pertinent to this one about donating, but I had to comment on this. I didn't know my name was still known around here. It was a bit of a shock to see this post with my name near the top.

Anyway, my son's best friend was just diagnosed with esophageal cancer a couple weeks ago. I told his wife to check the forums for info here, but I see that esophageal cancer isn't addressed here. So I'm wondering if anyone knows of any good sites devoted to this type of cancer.

Now I'm going to post this in a new thread also.

Charm, thanks for the notoriety!

And David, thanks for your generosity (in more ways than one).

Rosie

Rosie

Notoriety? Nah: just acknowledgment of your hard work and good efforts. although "the Notorious Rosie" does have a ring to it. Actually my post was a homage to yours. Way to go with a generous donation that perhaps will inspire other OCF readers to donate also.
I am sorry that your friend's son joins the cancer club. Your other posts really uncovered some facts that I didn't know, so you continue to help out the board, Five years ago my tumor was just growing unbeknownst to me, so I wasn't on this board, but please accept my sincere sympathy for Heather's death. The years don't dim the pain as much as those who have not lost a loved one might imagine. Thanks again for setting the example here.
Charm

Charm,

I guess notoriety wasn't the best word to use. Has sort of a negative connotation, doesn't it? It was just the first word to pop into my head. But I sort of like "the Notorious Rosie"!!!

I try to remember to donate a couple times a year. I was donating every time we lost another member, but that was hard to keep up with, since I didn't come to the forums much. Besides, it was too painful to focus on the lost members. Your post was a good reminder to donate now.

I will be forever grateful to Brian and the OCF members. I don't know how I would have made it without the information and support that I found here.

And yes, the years haven't dimmed the pain as much as I thought. Most days are okay, but I still get hit with a wave of grief out of the blue and start crying. The strangest things will set me off. Something that shouldn't even remind me of Heather, but does anyway. It's hard to explain to someone who hasn't been through it.

Rainbows and hugs.

Rosie

I joined.

It was a great idea last year and remains one again this year. I am just starting my taxes for 2009 due this April and wanted to remind everyone:
SHARE YOUR TAX RETURN WITH OCF
So, here is a fast, simple, no hassle way to show your support for OCF. GO TO THE OCF FOUNDATION LINK AT THE TOP LEFT OF THIS BOARD, AND BECOME A MEMBER (PRICES START AS LITTLE AS $50 TO JOIN AS A MEMBER WITH ONLY A $25 RENEWAL FEE).
Charm

And just like in past years I will answer (or at least point you in the right direction if I can't) any Federal Income Tax question you may have. You can either PM me if you don't want others to see your question or you can post it for all to see if you think it will benefit others.

I also will renew my offer to prepare anyone's income tax return for FREE if you will donate what I normally would have charged to the OFC. I did several last year that way.

Just want to make sure that everyone understands the above offer is still good with one exception and that is I will also prepare your returns for free whether or not you can afford to donate your refund to the OCF.

I have answered many tax ?'s via PM's already this year but there are many newcomers that may not have seen this before so if you have a tax question feel free to ask.

Hey all you new members who have joined this last year. This was a good idea back in 2009, a better idea in 2010 and the best idea for 2011. With all the OCF forum does, we can't risk a "shutdown" due to lack of funds. The message remains the same; when that refund comes, send a donation to OCF. Also formally join as a member. We need you.
Charm