May Donation Draw- Doing it a bit differently this month

[Grant Lamontagne]

Ordinarily I post a bunch of pictures of a neat knife, tool or other item, and come up with a bizarre story or angle to pitch it.  Honestly, seeing the horrors happening in Fort McMurray right now, I just don't feel jovial enough to come up with a silly post, so this month I am going to change things up- instead of donating to the forum, please consider donating to the Red Cross Relief Effort.  You can do this by credit card or Paypal here:

https://donate.redcross.ca/ea-action/action?gclid=Cj0KEQjwx7u5BRC1lePz2biJpIYBEiQA-ZeDmk2sGMJTTOh2dBJOqK9vG8biWMIn9ItnG7egGtrunBsaAhCr8P8HAQ&ea.client.id=1951&ea.campaign.id=50639

Or you can text "REDCROSS" to 30333 on your phone.

Once you've made a donation to help the 80,000+ displaced people, please post here.  You don't have to say what amount you donated, just let us know you did.  Anyone who donates ANY amount, will be entered into a draw to win this month's prize, a stonewashed Kershaw Shuffle II:



I'm not going to make folks feel bad by posting images or videos from the fire- there's enough of that to be found on various news sites, Youtube, Facebook and even here on the forum. 

Your donation will actually be worth twice the amount you donate, because the Canadian Government has stated that they will match the donations made, so even small amounts help.  Don't be shy if you don't have much to give, every little bit counts.

Def

[Grant Lamontagne]

I have handled this one a bit now, just to take some photos of it and I really think this is a really good knife for the money.  Yes, it's a fairly inexpensive knife, but it is really comfortable to hold, and the stonewash looks awesome.  Here are the pics I snapped of it. 





The simulated knapped handle is quite comfortable to hold, and fits in nicely with the stonewashed motif as well.









I really like the dual, ambidextrous, integrated bottle openers and the pry tip that could also function as a large flathead screwdriver.  I haven't tested their effectiveness yet, that's for the new owner to try out. 





Plus the pocket clip is reversible, so the lefties out there can appreciate it too.



Did I mention that I really like the stonewash look?



It's a small knife, but it is very comfortable and I really like the feel of it.  Someone is going to be very happy with this knife!

Def

[Joe58]

Very good idea Grant...over the weekend, here in Nebraska, we had air quality warnings from the smoke drifting down and the haze reduced visibility by quite a bit. I can imagine how it's been for the people involved personally. Terrible.

One question I would ask, and I haven't looked yet, does this donation go directly to the relief efforts? Or do we need to be sure we specify?

The Red Cross has a bad habit of skimming a large portion of donations to apply towards other purposes, some not always relief efforts, unless it's labeled as specifically towards where it is meant to go by the donor.

Sorry to bring this up, but I just want to be sure the donations are used properly and where intended.

[Grant Lamontagne]

Always a good question, and is one of the reasons I am always leery of various charity organizations - no one ever really knows where all the money goes.

The page I linked to above is specifically set up for the Alberta Fire Appeal, so I believe that's what it will go to.

Def

[zoidberg]

I've been saving towards a couple zebralight headlamps for months now.   

However I decided to go with black diamond ones and donate the difference.

Your donation has been received – thank you!

When help is needed most...

Your donation ensures that we will be there when any Canadian needs help following a disaster. Thank you!

[Grant Lamontagne]

Great job Dr Z!

Def

[derekmac]

This is a great idea Grant, thank you for doing it this way!   

My donation has been made.

[derekmac]

I wanted to say, though I'd love to see more posts saying people have donated, I'm really glad there are no fraud posts from folks that are just trying to get something for free. 

[Grant Lamontagne]

Me too Derek, although I know a number of people have donated and not posted.  I've gotten PM's, emails and FB messages about it.  Some folks don't feel right getting a gift from the forum for donations going elsewhere.  I understand and respect their thoughts, but this draw is open, so they might as well take advantage of it!

Def

[derekmac]

Well I'd like to thank all that have donated!    From what the news is saying, folks are now being allowed to go back into the city, which is great news!!  It will take a long time to clean up and rebuild, but it will be done.

[Grant Lamontagne]

Since only two of you admitted to having made a donation, I am declaring you BOTH winners!  Send me a PM with your addresses and I'll get prizes out to each of you!

Def

[jerseydevil]

Congrats to both of you! I'm one that didn't think that donating and posting for a prize was something I wanted to do. So many lost so much.....