Relief Efforts for Bruce Whitehead

Second use of the donations... securing a vehicle to get my rats to a foster home.

I will get all of their furry butts back home when we get settled. :)

I had breeders offer to take them and just buy them, or take them but not be able to get them back to me after.

And my rats are my pets, I need to see all their faces back when this is over.

:gj:

I am a little new to this site, but I have known a few here for years.

I am so glad some one could set up a relief fund, and a "goods" colllection.

I will be sending some funds asap, and anything I have, or can think to pick up.

I see mention of Clothing sizes, and a list of other things needed,
and lists of places we can get gift cards from.

I was unaware wally world (wal-mart), Lowes, and Home Depot were in Canada as well.

Thank you for letting us all know :o)

I am known "elsewhere" as Marg , so If you have an add friendship request, please know that it is me - lol

Thanks

Marg

IMPORTANT!

If you're buying gift cards from places like Walmart or Home Depot be sure to ask if they are useable in Canada. In most cases the gift cards purchased on one side of the border ARE NOT useable on the other side for whatever reason. I know this has been the case in the past but may not be now. Best to ask and know FOR SURE.

I'll see if I can get an answer from the Walmarts and Home Depots and such up here but it's always good to double check.

You'd think they would be useable but it's usually because American stores operating in Canada are quite separate from their American counterparts. I know this is the case with Best Buy. They're accountable to the same shareholders (ie: making the same people rich) but both sides of the border have independent Presidents and are run completely separately (and even have different business models).

Cheers.

Thanks :o)

I was planning to send a prepaid visa/mastercard.

Is there any difference in canada?

Marg

UPDATE... Walmart Canada WILL NOT accept giftcards purchased in the USA. Home Depot Canada WILL accept gift cards purchased in the USA (however Home Depot USA will not accept Canadian ones, weird).

Again... WALMART NO. HOME DEPOT YES.

As far as Home Depot goes I'm not sure if the value is transferred according to currency rates or simply "at par" so it might be better to contribute money rather than a gift card as the US Dollar currently is higher than the Canadian so the money would go further that way.

I'm sure if you argued hard enough they'd take the US Walmart giftcards but it's probably not worth the fight so I would avoid it.

I didn't check Lowes because we don't have one yet in Ottawa. (Where I live.)

If any other stores come to mind just ask. If they're local I don't mind calling! :)

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Smugg

Thanks :o)

I was planning to send a prepaid visa/mastercard.

Is there any difference in canada?

Marg

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I'm honestly not sure. I know that pre-paid cards aren't super popular up here but at the end of the day they should be accepted anywhere that Visa or Mastercard is accepted. That's the general idea. I work at Best Buy and I've gotten them a couple of times and never had issues processing the sales.

Again though I don't know about how the exchange rate would work. It would probably be best to ask the issuer about that.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Marg

I am a little new to this site, but I have known a few here for years.

I am so glad some one could set up a relief fund, and a "goods" colllection.

I will be sending some funds asap, and anything I have, or can think to pick up.

I see mention of Clothing sizes, and a list of other things needed,
and lists of places we can get gift cards from.

I was unaware wally world (wal-mart), Lowes, and Home Depot were in Canada as well.

Thank you for letting us all know :o)

I am known "elsewhere" as Marg , so If you have an add friendship request, please know that it is me - lol

Thanks

Marg

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Great to see you here Marg! I remember you from another site. :)

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Mettle

IMPORTANT!

If you're buying gift cards from places like Walmart or Home Depot be sure to ask if they are useable in Canada. In most cases the gift cards purchased on one side of the border ARE NOT useable on the other side for whatever reason. I know this has been the case in the past but may not be now. Best to ask and know FOR SURE.

I'll see if I can get an answer from the Walmarts and Home Depots and such up here but it's always good to double check.

You'd think they would be useable but it's usually because American stores operating in Canada are quite separate from their American counterparts. I know this is the case with Best Buy. They're accountable to the same shareholders (ie: making the same people rich) but both sides of the border have independent Presidents and are run completely separately (and even have different business models).

Cheers.

---

I've already checked into the WalMart thing and I do have a phone number direct to the lady in charge of gift cards at the Canadian corporate offices of WalMart Canada (helps when hubby works for WalMart doesn't it LOL). Anyways, I have her name, her number and the procedure needed to send a Canadian WalMart gift card to Bruce and Jerome.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by frankykeno

I've already checked into the WalMart thing and I do have a phone number direct to the lady in charge of gift cards at the Canadian corporate offices of WalMart Canada (helps when hubby works for WalMart doesn't it LOL). Anyways, I have her name, her number and the procedure needed to send a Canadian WalMart gift card to Bruce and Jerome.

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Alrighty. I wanted to let people know because if they go out, buy the giftcard in the USA and simply mail it off Walmart Canada will not accept it.

Is it a complicated procedure? Or a special one? Because you should tell people what this procedure is so that they can follow it and not send gcs that can't be used. (Or maybe I missed it in the thread, lol.)

OK, I will check into it in the morning...
I will also see if maybe an American Express woud be better :o)

Marg

Question for Bruce... do you keep any animals that would need heat lamps? We have a bunch of extra fixtures and a few bulbs that we don't use here.

I made a small donation. Not a whole lot but I hope it helps. :)

Thanks mods for making this happen! I've sent my donation this morning.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Mettle

Alrighty. I wanted to let people know because if they go out, buy the giftcard in the USA and simply mail it off Walmart Canada will not accept it.

Is it a complicated procedure? Or a special one? Because you should tell people what this procedure is so that they can follow it and not send gcs that can't be used. (Or maybe I missed it in the thread, lol.)

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Stephan, from what the lady told me it's not complicated but it's not the "norm". She offered to send the card out by courier to Bruce so I think it's likely better if enough people want him to receive a WalMart gift card that we pool the money and buy one big one rather than a lot of smaller ones that this lady would have to send out.

If anyone wants to do this please let staff know and we can see what we can set up to do this efficiently. :)

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Marg

OK, I will check into it in the morning...
I will also see if maybe an American Express woud be better :o)

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OK - just a quick update on this...

I spoke to a customer service rep at My Bank...
My bank doesn not do prepaid Visa/Master Card...
but she said there should be no problem using one in any country,
as they are used world wide.

So I will need to find a bank, or some where that I can perchase
one of these.

I decided on one of these, as I am unsure of how "Pay Pal" works...
and would like them to be able to carry this with them, to be able to
use it anytime they Need it :o)

Marg

I'm so sorry for what happened Bruce! Thank goodness everyone is okay!

I will donate when I can, but unfortunately I just forked over $2,000 yesterday for a security deposit and first month's rent on my new place... I'm pretty tapped out and still have to buy all sorts of new crap for the house...

But in a week or so I should have a little bit I can throw into the pot.

We're all thinking of you and your animals, Bruce.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Marg

OK - just a quick update on this...

I spoke to a customer service rep at My Bank...
My bank doesn not do prepaid Visa/Master Card...
but she said there should be no problem using one in any country,
as they are used world wide.

So I will need to find a bank, or some where that I can perchase
one of these.

I decided on one of these, as I am unsure of how "Pay Pal" works...
and would like them to be able to carry this with them, to be able to
use it anytime they Need it :o)

Marg

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Marg check out WalMart or Rite Aid for pre-paid Mastercards. I think they are pretty reasonably priced. Here's a link I got from Google, hope it helps. Some are reloadable, some are single use....

http://www.mastercard.com/fac/facSta...ctId=3&catId=1

Got paid today and made my donation, I hope it helps Bruce!

Quote:

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Originally Posted by frankykeno

Stephan, from what the lady told me it's not complicated but it's not the "norm". She offered to send the card out by courier to Bruce so I think it's likely better if enough people want him to receive a WalMart gift card that we pool the money and buy one big one rather than a lot of smaller ones that this lady would have to send out.

If anyone wants to do this please let staff know and we can see what we can set up to do this efficiently. :)

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Awesome info! Thanks for looking into this.

As it stands though, if someone buys a giftcard from their regular USA Walmart it will not be accepted in Canada. Which sucks.

Question... Is paypal taking off tons of fees for the money being donated? That always irks me.

Quote:

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Question... Is paypal taking off tons of fees for the money being donated? That always irks me.

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that always ticked me off too, I hope that we all gt a luck out since we helpnig ( waiting for the fund transfer to complete and wil lbe adding more ( they email says about may 4th ) and then I will ad my second share .

Judy, I've sent you an email to get Bruce's mailing addy... hopefully a 'rack-o-heat' will assist him at this time.

in light and love,
Aleesha

Bruce... may the Light continue to shine on you and your partner... and your critters...

love and light,
Aleesha (((hugs)))

I don't have a lot of resources ... but I sent what I could.

I didn't add a message, but as long as the money is there. Bruce, I wish you all the best.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Marg

I decided on one of these, as I am unsure of how "Pay Pal" works...

---

Can some one explain to me how Pay Pal works?

Do they get funds transfered into their bank account?
Do they get a Visa/Mastercard?
Do they withdraw from some accont, some where?

Marg

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Marg

Can some one explain to me how Pay Pal works?

Do they get funds transfered into their bank account?
Do they get a Visa/Mastercard?
Do they withdraw from some accont, some where?

Marg

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The funds are transferred into their paypal account. They can then withdrawal the funds to their bank account.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Mettle

Question... Is paypal taking off tons of fees for the money being donated? That always irks me.

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Yeah, paypal is taking their cut. However, I'm making up the difference from my own account. So if you donate $20, then Bruce is receiving $20. :)

Quote:

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Originally Posted by recycling goddess

Judy, I've sent you an email to get Bruce's mailing addy... hopefully a 'rack-o-heat' will assist him at this time.
(((hugs)))

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Thanks Aleesha! I'll e-mail you back shortly!

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Marg

Can some one explain to me how Pay Pal works?

Do they get funds transfered into their bank account?
Do they get a Visa/Mastercard?
Do they withdraw from some accont, some where?

Marg

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Paypal is usually attached to someone's bank account and it works sort of like a holding-tank between one person's bank account and another.

My account ---> my paypal acct ---> Your paypal acct ---> Your bank account

Money can sit right in the paypal account OR it can be moved right into (or drawn directly out of) the bank account it is attached to.

___________________

To ALL....I got a very brief PM from Bruce saying that he is now back to work, and working 14 hour days...so is keeping quite busy. He'll stop in as soon as he's able to give us another update. In the meantime, he wants everyone to know how deeply grateful he is for all your love and support. :sunny:

I made my donation today as promised. It didn't let me enter my user name so could you please make sure that it is noted when the donation is received. Thank you.

Wish I could have donated more. It's pretty amazing to see an online community come together like this. It speaks volumes for the members here.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by JLC

Yeah, paypal is taking their cut. However, I'm making up the difference from my own account. So if you donate $20, then Bruce is receiving $20. :)

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WOW! Kudos to you for that! :)

Yesterday was day 7... and SO MUCH has happened.

I will give a full rundown soon enough, and again... this site, the admins, the mods, and the members are the best!

Like this has not been enough work for everyone involved, but I would love if we could thank you all personally when this is settled. If you are comfy with it, let us know your names, mailing addresses, etc.

We can never repay people in entirety, but we will do our best.

I am looking at a sublet this morning, and am looking at long term living spaces on Monday and Tuesday. Things are progressing and we know that everyday after today is going to be a good day.

So much has come together and so many people have been so instrumentive in all of this. There are reasons I consider this my home site, and as I have told people this week, everything that everyone has done has been above what we would ever have expected/hoped for, but nothing anyone has done has been anything less that we would expect. If that makes sense?...

In addition to this community, our friends threw a vernissage and party for us last night (a complete surprise), another friend of our's from the aboriginal community in Red Deer (Alberta) is organizing a drumming circle to raise funds and energy.

3 of the most important communities that we are part of have done nothing but respond in the best ways possible.

If I could I would send everyone a snake when this is over! :snake:

Bruce and Jerome

Bruce,

Donation Made.

I'm so relieved that this tragedy was not as bad as it could have been. You, Jerome and your animals are surely blessed.

Proud to be a part of the bp.net community.

Rich

second payment made I hope everyone doing well Bruce.

Bruce, it's wonderful of you to update us all here. You, Jerome and all your critters are always in our thoughts. :)

times like this i hate being out of work,as soon as i get money,part of it is going to bruce

Donated!

Good to hear things are going great! :D

Quote:

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I decided on one of these, as I am unsure of how "Pay Pal" works...
and would like them to be able to carry this with them, to be able to
use it anytime they Need it :o)

Marg

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Bruce -
I sent a prepaid card out on May 7th,
have not heard anything of if it... along with a lengthy letter...
Have you recieved it?
How long does it take to go from TX to Cananda?
Please let me know...
I will send another if it got lost in the mail.

Marg