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HOLIDAY CHARITY THREAD - A Strange Tale (and an X-Men, and a Frazetta...) for a strange year -- CLOSED W/ OVER $1500 RAISED!!!
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72 posts in this topic

Hello all and an early happy holidays!  About a week ago, the idea for this thread came to me as it grew out of a gentleman's bet I had made with @jaybuck43.  Hopefully this thread goes well and we can make it an annual occurrence!

A little background first - our bet was based upon our opinions in regard to what we thought the outcome of a particular recent event would be.  The winner of our bet got to name the charity, and the runner-up would make a $25 donation to that charity.  Suffice to say, I won the silver medal in this one.  However, I did turn out to be almost correct on a secondary aspect of said bet, albeit I had it backwards.  So I figured, backward near 100% accuracy should earn the charity I would've chosen a little something too.

So as of right now, my total donation stands at $50 - $25 to each charity.

But then I thought, "Why stop there?  Let's see if some more board members want to get involved, and we can send that total further north."

Who get's the money?

jaybuck has chosen the Best Friends Animal Sanctuary in Utah (https://bestfriends.org/sanctuary/about-sanctuary).  This is a charity I've also donated to in the past, and there probably isn't a whole lot I can say that their website already doesn't.

As for me, I've chosen the Greater Chicago Ferret Association, an all volunteer, no-kill shelter located in Lyons, IL (http://www.gcfa.com).  If you're unfamiliar with ferrets, they're charming little weasely looking critters that bring a blend of cute and mischief to any home.  Unfortunately, they are also prone to be whimsical pet store purchases that end up abandoned not long after the buyer realizes they aren't a substitute for a hamster, or some low maintenance pet to keep the kids occupied.  Luckily, the GCFA is there to take in almost any cast away in the area (most shelters won't take in ferrets), with volunteers willing to drive several hours to pick up the latest resident.  And their adoption process does its best to screen out the potential deadbeat owners.


How does this thread work?

I'll be accepting donation pledges from anyone who wishes to contribute, starting from the time this thread goes live until closing next Sunday, 12/13, at 7 PM.  No money is due until the thread closes.

Pledges can be anonymous or public.  Anonymous pledges should be sent to me via PM with the subject line "2020 Holiday Charity Thread."  The only way a PM donation will not remain anonymous is if I receive the highest and/or 2nd and/or 3rd highest pledge via PM (more on that later).

Public pledges, please just post in this thread.

I will post the current top pledge amount and the overall tally on a daily basis.  I consider any pledge binding, so please Please PLEASE don't put up but not come through.


Is there a minimum? - No!  Please pledge whatever you'd like.  This is meant to be a fun little event to raise a few bucks for two great charitable organizations, any amount is appreciated.  Also, the amount pledged is the amount expected.  No fine print about "this pledge is per charity, or per mile" or anything like that.  A $10 pledge means $5 goes to each charity.

How do I send you my pledge money? - Fee free method would be appreciated by either PayPal F/F (no one is making money here, so this shouldn't violate their rules), Zelle, or even paper instrument through snail mail.  However, I will take PayPal G/S too, and I'll cover any fees.

Do you have references? - Absolutely!  PM me if you need any.

Will you post proof of donation? - You better believe it.  Spots will be reserved on page 1 to post donation receipts.

You mentioned "later" and "Strange Tales", what's that about?

Yes indeed.  I've set a little something aside for the person who puts up the biggest pledge...a 5.5 blue label, CR/OW copy of Strange Tales 105.  ComicLink shows a 5.5 OW/W recently selling for over $100, so there's some nice FMV available here.  Photos of the book will be posted in the spot reserved for the top pledge announcement.

The book will be shipped insured USPS priority to the top pledger, and I will cover the shipping cost.  The top pledging member will be tagged and the amount pledged posted at the conclusion of the pledge period.

AND AN UPDATE - thanks to @Jginsberg79, a second book has been added to the prize portion - a blue label 8.5 copy of X-Men 100.  Info has been added to the book winner post.

AND ANOTHER UPDATE - @wombat has also contributed to the prize pool, info has been added to the winner post.

So now, top pledge gets their choice of book to take home, runner-up pledge will choose between the remaining two, and the third will go to our bronze medal pledge!

Note:  me and jaybuck ARE NOT eligible for the books.


And because this is a charity thread, I see no reason not to allow pledges to be increased should someone desire to do so.  If you feel like chasing any of the books, go for it!  Just no pledge decreases please :foryou:


I believe I have covered everything, but if there's any questions about this thread, please PM me.  I will post any Q&A that will benefit the thread as a whole.  Also, if anyone has any suggestions, comments, or anything else for this thread or possible future ones, please send those along as well.  

Now let's get the tally climbing!

Edited by mattn792
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And the winner of the Strange Tales 105 pictured below is @buddy2!

Front.thumb.JPG.7f3b9ece19892394f480701f9edf23cf.JPG

Rear.thumb.JPG.e3d5b917508adea010014ea80c2c949b.JPG

 

While the winner of the X-Men 100 pictured below is @BuscemasAvengers!

PXL_20201209_041518782.MP.jpg

 

Courtesy of @wombat, we have a third entry into the prize pool!  The winner is … 

Homer Mr.Plow | The simpsons, Simpson, Los simpson

I mean Mr. @SkOw !!

artbook2.JPG

Edited by mattn792
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Here is our first receipt to Best Friends.  I left it anonymous for now as that was specified in the rules, but I will check if the member would like to be tagged in this post.

1623172383_BestFriendsanonymousreceipt.png.69567620a37453851747aff36fa5eb5a.png


And here's the receipt for our cumulative donation!  All money we've raised is officially out the door and to the animals :banana:

1958464120_Bestfriendsscreengrab--boards.thumb.png.989b088282ef3467d951e43bfae3fc2c.png
 

And our thank you email from Best Friends:

5CF104A2-C221-4455-801E-1222D9054B08.jpeg.36d7a24a6e18e843eb4edaaa772cf18e.jpeg

Edited by mattn792
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27 minutes ago, Comcav said:

Great charities, I love animals.  The boards are such a great community and happy to support this.  $100.00 from the takebot.

I’ve been wanting to one up takebot for years, so $101.00 from SkOw!!!! 

(Suck on that takebot!  I bet there’s no way you’d out-pledge me now! :sumo:)

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3 minutes ago, SkOw said:

I’ve been wanting to one up takebot for years, so $101.00 from SkOw!!!! 

(Suck on that takebot!  I bet there’s no way you’d out-pledge me now! :sumo:)

I wish I could past a haha and a thanks reaction to the same post!!  :bigsmile:

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1 hour ago, Comcav said:

Great charities, I love animals.  The boards are such a great community and happy to support this.  $100.00 from the takebot.

Had to be the first take?

1 hour ago, SkOw said:

I’ve been wanting to one up takebot for years, so $101.00 from SkOw!!!! 

(Suck on that takebot!  I bet there’s no way you’d out-pledge me now! :sumo:)

Well done and it must feel great to finally get the monkey off your back?

Animals...charity...you’re speaking my language 

I can’t bear to take this moment away from @SkOw

count me in for $100.99

 

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My old buddy Tank woke up when he heard that the books in jb's thread sold, bringing our total up to $601.99 after 48 hours.  

296876665_Tanksit-up.thumb.JPG.3037381791c353920c44134466530b5f.JPG

 

Unfortunately I haven't been able to own any ferrets for several years due to my wife's substantial allergies to them.  Have you ever put on a jacket, picked up one of your pet ferrets, let him lay on the jacket sleeve real quick, driven 25 minutes, had your significant other slightly brush her arm on that same sleeve, and see her arm immediately break out?  Because I have.  Never would have believed it was possible if I didn't see it happen in real time.

Our top three up to this point remains SkOw, Funnybooks, and comcav. 

Folks, you have a chance to beat the takebot for a change!  :baiting:

 

Edited by mattn792
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