Online medical expense donations sites?

[mindehankins]

Hi folks,
A dear friend's very young child was diagnosed today with a leukemia. Information is sketchy right now, as they are at a hospital in Pittsburg, and family and friends are in Western NY. We're seeing a need to find a funding site where all of us (not asking you for donations) can send money to support the family while they initiate care.
Does anyone have any experience with gofundme or any sort of fundraising site like this? Any pitfalls to share, or any specific site to recommend? We don't want to jump into something, not knowing what we're getting into.
Does anyone know if there'd be any harm in one of us just putting a personal paypal account into gear while we figure out what to do? We have one friend down in Pittsburg who we've sent paypal funds to, and he's given the family cash to get by for now. Any problems with that? This isn't a public thing, it'll be a (probably somewhat widening) circle of friends sending funds.
Thanks for your help, and hope I've explained my question well enough!

[mindehankins]

I'm back with a couple more questions. This board has people with such a broad range of experience that I'm sure someone knows something helpful.
Child has ALL.
Family is very poor, and is stationed out of state for the near future, while the babe is diagnosed and treatment initiated. I'm guessing that donations are reportable income. Is there a way to help a family in this sort of situation, without affecting the benefits that keep them fed and sheltered? Feel free to PM me if your explanation is too long to be put on the board.

[maresapres]

I can't help in the expense at this time but I do live in Pittsburgh. Would the family appreciate a visit? Perhaps you could get signed up with Caringbridge.org. It is an online site where you can donate but the family can post each day how the child is doing and progress/setbacks to the family at home. It is wonderful for the parents and the family back home to show their support. You can set up the online account. Please check into it and if I can do anything on my end, please let me know.
Sincerely,
Maresa Saunders

[mindehankins]

Thank you, Maresa, for your kind offer. The family is quite overwhelmed and hasn't even eaten or slept in a couple of days, so we're remaining at a distance in that way. We do have a local friend there who is hosting the family's other young child and doing the best he can to help.
Caringbridge is an excellent suggestion - heard of it but don't know much. Will look into that! Thank you!!!
We have a large circle of friends and everyone's trying to just assess how best to help. That's the sort of information we're needing. I do appreciate you signing in to tell us about it! <3

[jimg20]

I don't know a great deal about tax laws and benefits limitations. My question is can the fund raising site send the money directly to the institution on their behalf? In that way, it seems to me, they don't get any of the money.

JIM

[mindehankins]

That's good thinking, Jim! We'll look into that! I don't know why someone other than the family couldn't pay bills. Thank you!

[jimg20]

That's good thinking, Jim! We'll look into that! I don't know why someone other than the family couldn't pay bills. Thank you!

Sure. Insurance companies pay bills and we never see the money or call it income.

JIM

[lprof]

Minde, first let me say how sorry I am that another family's child is suffering with cancer. Then, I must say that you are being a wonderful friend to them (that is not surprise, of course).

I do not know the laws pertaining to donations. I should think that gifts (donations) would not count as income, unless in huge amounts.

Have you looked at this site...
http://www.giveforward.com/
I personally don't know anything about it, but it looks good.
Some of these sites do charge fees; that would be a concern to explore.

Has anyone thought of gift cards, as Visa, which could be used for many needs... gas, food, lodging, etc.?

[lark22]

Hi Minde,

I'm so sorry to hear -- it's heartbreaking. A child in my sister's third grade class was recently diagnosed with cancer (which spread from a tumor in her hand into her lungs). The family has been so touched by the outpouring of love and support from their community...a family friend set up a gofundme site, and they have a CaringBridge page where the family posts updates.

I wholeheartedly agree that gift cards would be an easy way to give and wouldn't trigger any kind of income concerns -- restaurants, grocery stores, gas cards.....lots of ways to pay for everyday expenses directly (obviously check to see which stores would be best for them locally. You could collect money (via PayPal or whatever) and then purchase the cards to send to them.

If it's at all possible to have the GoFundMe page set up by a family member with the same last name, I think that's best -- I feel that the fund would get more donations that way...when I donated to my sister's student's fund, I have to admit to feeling a tiny bit of hesitation when I got to the payment page and it was a name that I'd never heard of. It also might be easier if a family member were in charge of managing and dispersing the money to the family -- something that you take on in haste and in kindness might end up being trickier than you imagined when setting up the account.

For the local community, there's also http://www.takethemameal.com/ where people can sign up to bring a meal to the family.

In the short term, I see no problems with using a PayPal account (or wiring cash via Western Union?) to get them spending money for immediate use.

[lark22]

Also found these links:
http://budgeting.thenest.com/start-fund ... 25702.html
http://www.foxnews.com/story/2005/08/25 ... ick-child/

[mindehankins]

Thank you all for the well wishes, ideas, and links. We're making very slow progress. Babe is starting chemo and is improved. We hope to have them all here in our area in a week or so. Slow and steady....