#LdnOnt helps family in crisis
If you're an active Twitter user,
you may already be familiar with
#LdnOnt. It's the hashtag Londoners
use to connect with each other to talk
about local politics, share news,
make friends or even save a family
in crisis.
Monica's (name changed for anonymity) crisis began with the loss of a very inspirational figure in her life: her mother. A few months ago, she flew to her home country with her children to share her mother's last few days with her. Shortly after her return to London, Monica and her husband ended their relationship, leaving her with two young children and a pretty scary financial situation: a mountain of bills, overdue rent and a dwindling bank account. Her cupboards were emptying quickly. Winter was coming, so her kids needed new clothes. The list went on. She was overwhelmed, unemployed and didn't know what to do.
She turned to her friend Deanna Ronson, a local makeup artist and fashion stylist/image consultant, to share her story. "I was going through all of this, and I just ended up telling her what was happening in my life," Monica remembered.
Ronson felt "heartbroken" as she heard Monica's story, but she managed to keep a positive face for her friend. "The first thing I told her was, 'Don't worry, everything's going to be okay.' And I don't even know how I thought it was going to be okay, but I just had faith that everything was going to be okay, somehow," she smiled.
Ronson said she went right into social media mode, reaching out to the London community on Twitter the next day using #LdnOnt and alternating between #familyinneed and #familyincrisis to spread the word. "They really were a family in crisis at that point," she said. One of her first tweets read, "Hi #LdnOnt~I'm trying to help a family in crisis (mom & 2 kids). Immediate needs: gift cards for groceries & clothes for kids. Please DM me."
Within a few hours of tweets and retweets, someone came forward to offer a $100 gift card to a grocery store. "Right away, she had groceries for a week!" exclaimed Ronson.
Since Ronson started tweeting on October 13, hundreds of dollars in cash and gift cards, clothes for the children and other support has poured in from all corners of the city, and the donations just keep coming. The majority of people making the donations wish to be kept anonymous, but the message many have sent is that they hope Monica will one day be able to pay the kindness forward and help another family in need in the future.
"I can't believe the support from other people. When I (was able) to pay for the rent, oh God, it was just amazing," said Monica.
"She's just been so completely overwhelmed," said Ronson. "She cries every time I tell her the news (of the donations that come in). She's been so overwhelmed and so, so grateful, just completely grateful. She just can't believe that ... strangers are coming forward (to help)."
"Everybody goes through hard times ... When you can help, that's what you should do," Ronson said, adding that she tries to live her life by her favourite quote, "Be the change you wish to see in the world."
"I believe that one person can be that change," she said. "It can start in your backyard, it can start with your neighbour, with your friends, with your family. Look at the impact we've had on one family."
Since the outpouring of support on Twitter, Monica has found a parttime job and has continued to grow the business she runs out of her home. She has applied to the Ontario Works program to collect some additional funding and is currently seeking another part-time position to help her support her family.
"I think I'm feeling pretty good," Monica said. "It's been very, very hard. I have my very positive moments. Most of the time I feel really good, I'm always very positive, I just want to keep going and thinking about what I can do so that we get out of this situation. But then I have my sad moments, my crying time."
Even when Monica is feeling sad, she knows she can always turn to her friend. "She has been so amazing. I said to her, 'Deanna, I really don't know how to thank you.' I really don't have words to thank her. If it wasn't for her, with her tweets, I wouldn't get any help and I wouldn't be here... I don't know. It would be totally different." She said she couldn't even imagine what would have happened without Ronson's help. "It would have been very, very hard."
Monica's crisis is over, but there is still some need in her immediate future for winter clothing for the children. Her daughter is a size 9 in clothing, shoe size 2 or 3; her son is size 14 or 16 pants, XL top and size 8 shoe or boot. If you would like to make a donation to this family, contact Ronson at info@deannaronson.com.
Monica's (name changed for anonymity) crisis began with the loss of a very inspirational figure in her life: her mother. A few months ago, she flew to her home country with her children to share her mother's last few days with her. Shortly after her return to London, Monica and her husband ended their relationship, leaving her with two young children and a pretty scary financial situation: a mountain of bills, overdue rent and a dwindling bank account. Her cupboards were emptying quickly. Winter was coming, so her kids needed new clothes. The list went on. She was overwhelmed, unemployed and didn't know what to do.
She turned to her friend Deanna Ronson, a local makeup artist and fashion stylist/image consultant, to share her story. "I was going through all of this, and I just ended up telling her what was happening in my life," Monica remembered.
Ronson felt "heartbroken" as she heard Monica's story, but she managed to keep a positive face for her friend. "The first thing I told her was, 'Don't worry, everything's going to be okay.' And I don't even know how I thought it was going to be okay, but I just had faith that everything was going to be okay, somehow," she smiled.
Ronson said she went right into social media mode, reaching out to the London community on Twitter the next day using #LdnOnt and alternating between #familyinneed and #familyincrisis to spread the word. "They really were a family in crisis at that point," she said. One of her first tweets read, "Hi #LdnOnt~I'm trying to help a family in crisis (mom & 2 kids). Immediate needs: gift cards for groceries & clothes for kids. Please DM me."
Within a few hours of tweets and retweets, someone came forward to offer a $100 gift card to a grocery store. "Right away, she had groceries for a week!" exclaimed Ronson.
Since Ronson started tweeting on October 13, hundreds of dollars in cash and gift cards, clothes for the children and other support has poured in from all corners of the city, and the donations just keep coming. The majority of people making the donations wish to be kept anonymous, but the message many have sent is that they hope Monica will one day be able to pay the kindness forward and help another family in need in the future.
"I can't believe the support from other people. When I (was able) to pay for the rent, oh God, it was just amazing," said Monica.
"She's just been so completely overwhelmed," said Ronson. "She cries every time I tell her the news (of the donations that come in). She's been so overwhelmed and so, so grateful, just completely grateful. She just can't believe that ... strangers are coming forward (to help)."
"Everybody goes through hard times ... When you can help, that's what you should do," Ronson said, adding that she tries to live her life by her favourite quote, "Be the change you wish to see in the world."
"I believe that one person can be that change," she said. "It can start in your backyard, it can start with your neighbour, with your friends, with your family. Look at the impact we've had on one family."
Since the outpouring of support on Twitter, Monica has found a parttime job and has continued to grow the business she runs out of her home. She has applied to the Ontario Works program to collect some additional funding and is currently seeking another part-time position to help her support her family.
"I think I'm feeling pretty good," Monica said. "It's been very, very hard. I have my very positive moments. Most of the time I feel really good, I'm always very positive, I just want to keep going and thinking about what I can do so that we get out of this situation. But then I have my sad moments, my crying time."
Even when Monica is feeling sad, she knows she can always turn to her friend. "She has been so amazing. I said to her, 'Deanna, I really don't know how to thank you.' I really don't have words to thank her. If it wasn't for her, with her tweets, I wouldn't get any help and I wouldn't be here... I don't know. It would be totally different." She said she couldn't even imagine what would have happened without Ronson's help. "It would have been very, very hard."
Monica's crisis is over, but there is still some need in her immediate future for winter clothing for the children. Her daughter is a size 9 in clothing, shoe size 2 or 3; her son is size 14 or 16 pants, XL top and size 8 shoe or boot. If you would like to make a donation to this family, contact Ronson at info@deannaronson.com.
