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Native American beadworker: Want to set up "acct" for donations for son's grave marker. How do i get started?
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Working After Retirement
Native American beadworker: Want to set up "acct" for donations for son's grave marker. How do i get started?
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I am a disabled mid 60's Native American beadworker. My dear son, Rob, died a few years ago at 31. He had NO INSURANCE and died SUDDENLY of a brain bleed. After he had a seizure, wen
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Cat:7a9899c6-bb01-48a5-bd56-e73d9d7e3998Forum:45e436bc-476a-46bc-bd19-763888a26660Discussion:c927e6ae-34b9-44fd-b952-0141ccf5a439
Forums » Work & Retirement » Working After Retirement » Native American beadworker: Want to set up "acct" for donations for son's grave marker. How do i get started?
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Native American beadworker: Want to set up "acct" for donations for son's grave marker. How do i get started?
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Native American beadworker: Want to set up "acct" for donations for son's grave marker. How do i get started?
posted at December 20, 2011 7:11 AM EST
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Posts: 9
First: August 18, 2010 Last: December 20, 2011 |
I am a disabled mid 60's Native American beadworker. My dear son, Rob, died a few years ago at 31. He had NO INSURANCE and died SUDDENLY of a brain bleed. After he had a seizure, went into a coma, he was determined to be brain dead. What a terrible shock!.. Local funeral home allowed me to make PAYMENTS for about 3 years to pay off his funeral. However, I had to pay the cemetery expenses before he was buried in the "borrowed grave" that was donated by a neighbor.. SOMEONE HAD A BENEFIT WHERE DONATIONS WERE MADE THAT PAID FOR THE CEMETERY BILL AND FOR HIS CASKET. Finally, the funeral is ALL PAID OFF, but there is no money for a grave marker. It breaks my heart that it is so difficult to find his grave when I go there. Over time, people wanted to donate toward the grave marker, but CRESTWOOD CEMETERY over on Hill Road near Flint REFUSED TO TAKE INDIVIDUAL DONATIONS for that until I had paid HALF of the expense up front. Since it was about $1400 for the stone, i couldnt come up with half of that at one time. Since I live on less than $700 a month from SSA (my late husband's) and $3 a month from SSI, there just is no money left over. I cannot accept DONATIONS MADE DIRECTLY TO ME because of my being eligible for the SSI (which allows me to get Medicaid besides the Medicare) which matters because I have so many medical expenses. Since I still have the skills to make Native American beadwork, I was thinking that I could advertise to do pieces for people ......and not ACCEPT ANY MONEY . How could I set up something to COLLECT DONATION IN TRADE FOR THE BEADWORK......money to be paid to the CRESTWOOD CEMTETERY DIRECTLY when it grows to enough to cover half of the grave stone expenses? Since I am in bed most of the time, I certainly HAVE TIME to do the beadwork. Honestly, I lost the motivation once my son died. I am comforted knowing that he loved Our Lord Jesus and that he was saved when he passed. One day, not long from now, I WILL SEE HIM AGAIN, when I go to Heaven too. What I thought was that I could try to do some SIMPLE PROJECTS, like making earrings, bracelets, rings, or even some simple necklaces like i used to make for pow wows. Can't set up to "trade" at pow wows anymore, cause my partner who did the set up and tear down has moved away years ago, leaving me with no way to get there. I miss sitting around with other Natives, talking and doing our beads. Unfortunately, there is no reservation near here either. Anyway, I do still have ALL THE SUPPLIES to do my Native beadwork. I just need to GET MOTIVATED again. When I was thinking about how sad it makes me that my son has no grave stone, It DAWNED on me that maybe I could advertise to do the beadwork for people, but not take any money for it. I would just let people MAKE DONATIONS that they would give to help get the grave stone for my son. That way I would feel motivated to do beadwork. It would also be a good BRAIN EXERCISE WHICH THE DOCTOR SAYS I NEED. I dont know about you, but it is sooooo DEPRESSING TO FEEL USELESS when i cant work or even take care of my own needs. I do have a caregiver who helps out. Reading things here, I thought that maybe there were others like me, DISABLED, SENIORS, who might be able to COME UP WITH SOME IDEAS ON HOW TO GET STARTED DOING THIS. Any suggestions would be appreciated. I call myself MA64NANA (year i graduated), and on yahoo, I am kajern plus my age at that time (55), or MichiganNana11 at pogo. Or, here in Michigan, 810 732 9656 with your ideas. thank you very much for brain storming with me. That is one thing I miss in this stage of my life, no one interested in brain storming for solutions. |
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Re: Native American beadworker: Want to set up "acct" for donations for son's grave marker. How do i get started?
posted at December 20, 2011 7:43 AM EST
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Posts: 9
First: August 18, 2010 Last: December 20, 2011 |
Crestwood Cemetery won't take donations directly toward an "account" for my son's grave marker. After his sudden death at 31, no insurance, people wanted to donate toward this need, but the cemetery said they would not take any donations until HALF of the grave stone expense was paid. Since I am a disabled widow, with less than $700 a month, there was no way I could come up with this amount at one time. Thank the Lord, the funeral home was willing to take payments and donations, and after 3 years, I did finally pay that off. However, I had to use a credit card to pay the cemetery expenses for burying Rob in a "borrowed grave" donated from a neighbor. It took long to pay off the credit card because of more charges for interest on there. That is now paid off also. For many years, I did my Native beadwork with other Natives at pow wows, but have not been able to go and do that since my beadwork partner moved away over 12 years ago. Since Rob died suddenly after a seizure and going into a coma and was brain dead, and went to be with the Lord, I have lost my motivation to do beadwork. Even my doctor tried to motivated me, saying that doing the beadwork would be good "BRAIN EXERCISE". Just recently, it dawned on me that if i could get back to do my beadwork, I could pay for my son to have a grave marker. However, I cannot accept money DIRECTLY, or be in danger of losing my Medicaid which I get because I am so low income. I do have all the SUPPLIES to make my Native American beadwork, and the WILLINGNESS to make some simple projects like necklaces, earrings, and bracelets for people who would donate toward his grave marker. I have some things ALREADY made that will help to REMIND me of the patterns I used to make. What I need is AN IDEA of how to set this up. How about "brain storming" with me? One thing I had thought of was to have people pay for beadwork with checks made out to CRESTWOOD CEMETERY which is over on Hill Road by Flint. Only the cemetery said they won't accept a bunch of $5, $10, $15 dollar checks. So goofy! Wish I knew some way to change their "policy". Dont u hate that when places do some dumb things? One lady suggested that I have them make out checks to cash, but I still cant give those to the CEMETERY and I cant deposit those to my own personal account. Somebody else suggested that I do it on eBay, but I dont know how to do stuff on there. U know anyone who could SHOW me how to do that? If you have any ideas at all, please let me know. You can even contact me by phone 810 732 9656 with ideas or on pogo where i am MichiganNana11 (other members paid my membership for me to be on there, Isnt that a Praise the Lord thing?). Look forward to hearing form you. |
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Re: Native American beadworker: Want to set up "acct" for donations for son's grave marker. How do i get started?
posted at December 20, 2011 7:47 AM EST
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Posts: 9
First: August 18, 2010 Last: December 20, 2011 |
dont know how to put our pictures on here, but if you go to my facebook page, you can click on my profile and see tons of pics, including ones of my dear son, Rob. |
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Re: Native American beadworker: Want to set up "acct" for donations for son's grave marker. How do i get started?
posted at December 20, 2011 8:02 AM EST
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Posts: 9
First: August 18, 2010 Last: December 20, 2011 |
One of my relatives said that I did not explain clearly about the CRESTWOOD CEMETERY expenses. Yes, people did donate toward the burial and the rest I used my credit card to cover. Since the funeral expenses and all were over $7,000, after donations, it still took me 3 years to finish paying it off. Swartz Funeral home (also on Hill road), were just wonderful to our family and ot me in particular. They did a fantastic job with this huge funeral, and let us use my son Rob's own music, he wrote it and played guitar and sang his own songs at his own funeal (on tape), and they let a tv and dvd player be set up with over 1,000 pictures of Rob and friends and family, that continued over and over so that anyone who came in could see his beautiful smile. If you are considering using a funeral home in the Flint/Grand Blanc area, i greatly suggest that you contact them. What wonderful people!! (Not so sure about recomending Crestwood Cemetery) However, I may be buried there as the neighbor who donated Rob's grave said she might be able to donated one by him when I am gone. In that section, Garden of the Apostles, you can only have the FLAT ON THE GROUND MARKERS. You cannot put real or fake flowers on the graves, except during the winter (because of mowing they said), but you can put grave blanket on in the winter.
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Forums » Work & Retirement » Working After Retirement » Native American beadworker: Want to set up "acct" for donations for son's grave marker. How do i get started?
