Mr Albero
I am writing you just to give you a quick update. We were able to meet with Bennie Smith Funeral Home this afternoon. They said that if donations were to be made it would be best to send it to their Salisbury Office as there is always someone there to receive the funds and offer receipts.. Funeral services are scheduled for Saturday January 9 at 11a.m. in Princess Anne, Md but we were told if we could not come up with some way to pay for the services by Wednesday January 6th that they would not do the funeral service. Our family is totally devastated but we still remain hopeful that something will work out. We have contacted WMDT and they have agreed to interview us next week. I know I sound like a broken record but the kindness you have shown my family will never be forgotten and we thank you from the bottom of our hearts.
Yours truly
Riba Dickerson- Ndirangu
DelMarVa's Premier Source for News, Opinion, Analysis, and Human Interest Contact Publisher Joe Albero at alberobutzo@wmconnect.com or 410-430-5349
27 comments:
What is the total amount needed?
Call the Funeral Home and find out.
You can contact the Salvation army also catholic charities might be able to help.
Thats Bennie Smith for you.
I know funeral homes have to make money too but there has to be a way to accomodate the family when A CHILD dies! To not lay her to rest because the family does not have enough money and her body to sit somewhere waiting to have a proper burial hurts my heart.
I wish I had money right now to send. I have 3 kids and we are scraping by. This is horrible!
Joe, I hope all of your readers will remember tragic events like this and Sarah Foxwell so that when people such as myself ask about their life insurance they will stop and think before blowing the person off. If anyone has any questions or concerns they are more than welcome to contact me and I will help in any way.
Malaki Greer
443-944-1945
I hope everyone reading this will remember how cold this funeral home is being to this family that just lost a child! They are certainly not the only act in town. How hard is it to set up a payment plan, especially since there seem to be public donors!
because they wont get paid. its a business not a charity
I agree they should offer a payment plan or something...I know people need to make money but offering life insurance during this thread is a bit much...you should start another posting and mention the concerns..sorry to hurt anyone feelings...but this should be about helping out the family and figuring out a solution not advertising a product...
4:04~I am with you.
Go to a different funeral home that will have a little compassion
There is another local Salisbury funeral home that helps people who have lost a child. A yr or so back one of my employees lost a grandchild. They were contacted by them and were offered there services for free! Benny Smith should be ashamed of themselves!!
These people need to lose the ethnic divide of funneral homes and call someone else
I agree with Nikki. The child sadly died. It's not the time to discuss - you should've had life insurance.
The funeral home is a business, not a charity, and they can not provide services for every single person that cries poor. People need to stop expecting the community and its business to provide them financial security, because the are irresponsible or can not manage their own finances.
We provided gifts to a supposed poor family; they had a brand new plasma tv, but needed the community to give present and food to their children. Matter of circumstance? Maybe, but doubtful. I have been unemployed for almost a year... send me money or maybe you could drop a bag of groceries by, can I eat at the local restaurants for free? The circumstance of losing a child is sad, but you need to be financially responsible for your own burdens. Payment Plan? They will not fully pay off the debt, which is why they were not offered the option.
Joe, I just began reading your site about a week ago. I commend you for all of your efforts. You have a passion that I only hope I can bring out of myself. I also watched your show this morning. Thank you.
Jantizzy, I don't think not having funeral expenses or life insurance for a 5 year old means that this family some mis-managed their money. Social Services are provided for families in need, supposedly for a short portion of time. Apply to see if you qualify.
My husband lost his job a year ago. I lost my job after 13 years of full time employment, this past June. At 39 years old, we have never applied for food stamps until now. We have registered with the One Stop Job Force in Salisbury, which by the way, is a complete joke. We lived off of our 401k and cashed in our life insurance and now lost our home to foreclosure. Our plasma tv is 7 years old and not worth 1/4 of what we paid for it now.
I know to look for work, I know to beat every door possible. I have had wonderful people around me to encourage me to push forward. I have 2 daughters at home that need us to be positive and believe me, I have learned alot about the local "systems" around here. I know of 2 funeral homes that are out to make money but they are also compassionate. I say ask them for last years tax returns and pay stubs, run some background checks and help them if it doesn't look shady. The family has told us that Bennie Smith is going to charge them $2,000 if they find another funeral home, for services already rendered.
Don't draw a conclusion about how they manage their money because not everyone can afford life insurance and not everyone has a savings account. Just like not everyone can afford health insurance or prescriptions, it has very little to do with how they manage their money when they can't pay their heating bills. All I know is that they daughter has died and if it were your child (if you have any), people would give you encouragement and support instead of pointing a finger.
Jantizzy
Many of us find ourselves in the same boat right now. The child had cancer and was therefore un-insurable. I don't think that the person trying to sell insurance was doing so in the correct thread, but how much money and resourses is being offered to the family of our recently murdered Sarah yet this poor little girl in Pocomoke quietly dies and there is NO community outpouring for her.
No life isn't fair. It's harsh and and hard most of the time thats why when we can least afford to help someone in their time of need is when we are truly the most blessed.
Let me know where you live. We haven't had a paycheck in over a year either, but I will gather up a bag of groceries from my miracle and happily bring them to you.
I agree with Jantizzy.... you would be suprised at the number of good families that never pay their funeral bills...funeral homes and cemetaries have in good faith gone ahead with services and never been paid and they have no recourse... the service has been done and the body has been buried...the funeral home has already laid out the expenses for the casket, vault, workers, etc, and they certainly can't dig the body back up if the bill is not paid. It is unfortunate, but it is these recurring type of situations that force funeral homes to require payment in advance.
Also, I don't understand why people have taken offense to the gentleman's comment about life insurance on this post. It is a fact of life, or should I say death. You would expect people to have car insurance and health insurance. You don't have to get some huge amount; however, one can obtain minimal life insurance to cover burial expenses at a very reasonable cost, especially for children. His comment, I believe, was to make people stop and think about their particular circumstances. How prepared are any of us? I personally don't believe that someone should have some huge monetary gain off my death or that I should gain off someone else's death; however, I also don't want to be a financial burden to those I have left behind or have a financial burden placed upon me because someone else did not plan.
Having said all this, I do hope things work out for this family.
to Jantizzy
I dont know if you missed the original post but Solei was not insurable because she had cancer. We by no means are asking the funeral home to give a service for free. This mother was financially responsible but you try holding a full time job and travel back and forth to the hospital every other week with your child for treatments or surgery. She not only had to do that but find someone to watch the other brothers and sisters who were at home. This child had been in remission for almost 4 years and then just like that she died during surgery. No one expected it to happen. So your claim of irresponsibility is completely false.
Hate to say this, but more to the story then meets eye. Did they not live Princess Anne and where in P.A.? The funeral home can do payment plans with the mother. Possilby living off all kinds of assistance, doesn't want to pay to bury their own child.
Let me just say a little something to all of you nay sayers out there.
Arrangements are being made to resolve this crisis WITHOUT your help.
I don't give a rats A$$ what the circumstances are. This little baby is now gone and the Family is in need, period.
Take your negativity elsewhere. Some day you'll answer to who you are.
Riba Dickerson- Ndirangu, be sure to call me at 410-430-5349 and I'll fill you in on the details.
I made no comment in my post about anyone buying life insurance, and I did not state that this family was irresponsible, I used the generalized term "people". I suggest you re-read my post. I merely made a general comment concerning those who cry poor, based on facts that I have encountered on my road of life. I never once pointed my finger at this family. So get off your bandwagons and stop putting words in my post that I did not type. I understand how those with limited comprehension skills could misinterprete my post. It seems to happen lot here.
11:57 AM, I do not even own a plasma TV, I have an old tv with a converter box, I get 7 channels, so excuse my lack of pity, and like you, I never imagined this is how I would have ended up, unemployed and struggling.
12:57 PM Thank you for the generous offer. It sounds like alot of us unseen, unheard, faces could use a miracle.
My sympathy to the family. I can only imagine how devastated they are by their loss.
2:47 here...
My apologies to Joe and anyone else who thinks I was trying to be negative about this family's needs. That was truly not the intent. I do believe there is a need and that we as a community should do whatever we can to help this family. My comments, probably perceived as negative, were to those who would judge this funeral home or a man regarding life insurance. Why is it that our first instinct is to judge them and try to make them the bad guys? My previous commments were to only explain how I felt about my perception of their positions....(funeral homes never getting paid after the fact, and the need for life insurance-bursial expenses only).
The funeral for this little girl was paid for by a anonymous donor.
jayniah:my best freind solei watson now passed 9 years old she was a wonder little girl but i know now she is and angel i wish she haddent past at her furneral i cryed she was my best freind and now i hope that does not happen to anymore of her family members my school is trying to raise money for her service please help cause an angel i know is now dead but still in heaven i will make shure i speak to her every night day and afternoon i wish i could she my good angel just one more time clostes freinds cant belive she has passed hugs and kisses jayniah palmer age9
Well hello to everyone that posted there comments on her...I am solei watson mother and i know that a funeral home is not a charity but my child was not able to get insurance because she had cancer..I thank everyone for there help but the ones that have dumb stuff to say the hell with you...No one was there when my child was fighting for her life. She delt with this for nine years..I did everything that I could so don't be saying stuff and you don't no what the hell you are talking about.
I hear to let you know I wasn't on all kinds of assistance. My daughter solei was diagnosed with cancer when she was 15 months and she fought a good fight until she was nine years old. So keep your damn mouth off my child who is resting in piece. It's mfs like you that always have something to say when you don't know what went on. So shut the hell up.
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