And it looks like, two days into the campaign, he is just short of $3000
with 94 people donating.
:D
Barbara
On Sun, Mar 13, 2016 at 7:47 PM, Mary Garrard <springazure1@xxxxxxxxx>
wrote:
I posted it to OBOL and the Mid Valley listserv a couple of days ago.
On Mar 13, 2016 6:19 PM, "David Irons" <llsdirons@xxxxxxx> wrote:
Greetings All,
Two years ago, Tim Blount was someone who I only knew by name. Since then
we have come to be good friends. Tim helped arrange to place a memorial
bench for my daughter Lilly on the grounds of Malheur NWR headquarters.
Shawneen and I were deeply touched by his care and concern as we went
through that process. We placed the bench over Labor Day Weekend 2015.
Who would have thought that a mere four months later our beloved Malheur
would be under armed occupation. Like all the other refuge personnel, Tim,
who is now the executive director for Friends of Malheur National Wildlife
Refuge, was forced to leave his home and leave Harney County during the
occupation. During that time he has been living on property that is part of
Tualatin River NWR just sw. of Portland. During his exile, we have gotten
together with Tim a couple of times to go birding and just hang out (he
watched the Super Bowl with us) and we've been in regular phone contact as
well.
I think many of us in the forum can appreciate the utter sense of
violation that came with his office at the visitor's center being occupied
by the Bundy group. That sense of violation was compounded when he returned
to headquarters for the first time and learned that his binocular and
camera equipment, which he kept at headquarters, had been stolen by the
occupiers. Tim just wants his life to get back to normal, but knows that
may be a long and slow process. He is the type of person to offer help long
before he asks for it. I suspect it took a lot for him to decide to start a
GoFundMe campaign as a means to raise the money needed to replace the
stolen items.
Tim was there for us during a difficult time for our family. When I saw
his request for help, there was no question that I would lend my hand back
to him. Immediately, I made a donation of $100. I encourage you to check
out Tim's GoFundMe campaign. I have used GoFundMe and contributed to
several campaigns in addition to Tim's. It's easy, safe and all but a very
modest percentage of your donation will go directly to Tim and his need.
Whether you've met Tim or not, please know that he is a friend to Oregon
birders and all birders who come to visit Malheur. He is on Oregon Birding
Association board of directors and has in the past served on the Malheur
Field Station board. He is also active with the High Desert Partnership and
he recently recruited Kenn Kaufman to join the Friends of Malheur NWR board
for the next year. He is currently about half way to his stated goal (the
amount needed to replace his stolen gear). Please help him reach his goal.
No contribution is too small. Also, feel free to share this with others who
might be in a position to help. I don't know if the link to Tim's campaign
has been posted to OBOL, being a non-subscriber, I can't do it.
https://www.gofundme.com/pqtrzgrj
Thanks for taking the time to consider this,
Dave Irons
Portland, OR
