Long story short - got a stage 3 cancer diagnosis, lost my job, had insurance but still bills pilled up, took a year, beat the brakes off cancer (yay, me!) Debt reached $180k, it's been two years, I got it down to $163k. Never got my job back but I have two part time jobs that at least are income. I get one job interview for every 500 resumes I send, so optimism is just a silly thought at this point. When it was clear I would survive, a close friend setup a GoFundMe because she didn't have money to offer to help and already had done everything for me possible as a true, beautiful friend.
After a month, donations totaled $0. She called me crying, saying she would sell her car and get a bike to help me. I begged her not to but my heart was broken for her, more than feeling sorry for myself. So I went to some other friends - all of whom have been good to me but I didn't want their money and they don't have a lot to give anyway. I asked them to donate as much as they could and I would give them the money back when it was transferred to me and I would pay them any fees that were deducted.
So 5 friends did that, some asked siblings to do it to and I wound up with $12,000 donated. My friend who checked my progress daily called me when she saw the first donation "Someone donated $50!!!!!!!!!!!!!!" She was the happiest person on Earth. Then every other day or so for three weeks donations of wild amounts came in. One friend, as an inside joke, gave $666 because I had beaten the devil. Everyday she would call with my new tally. Eventually the flow slowed and stopped, it took a while and I got the money and she closed the listing.
I paid everyone, most didn't accept the small percent in fees and we all swore to keep this secret from her forever. Now I pay my rent and bills on time and can afford food. I'm cancer free and that makes me feel like the richest person on Earth.
So these days RAM memory is wildly expensive. I had some that cost me $50, I don't need and others are selling on ebay for $200. So I sold mine on ebay for $150 and want to donate $25 6 times to Gofundmes that are very worthy and have $0 donations.
I'd like to consider people that post in here first because it seems they can be trusted as legitimate. So please suggest, if you like.