A startup nonprofit organization, The Community Solution6 Project, is seeking funding through the crowdsourcing website Indiegogo to help local families that need assistance.
Currently in the infant stages, it is the brain child of Rob Hampton, founder/charity organizer, Cressona, an up-and-coming entrepreneur and musician who runs several businesses.
The online campaign to raise $5,000 began Nov. 10 and ends Jan. 9, 2014.
"The funds raised with this campaign will help get this charity off the ground and enable us to start working on event coordinating and to start applying for grants," Hampton said.
Hampton joined the military the day after he graduated high school because his parents didn't have the money to send him to college. After the military, he attended several colleges and received a business degree and recording engineer degree. After graduating, he put his first band together and played for several years touring the eastern U.S.
He then began to coordinate events for charities, raising tens of thousands of dollars and was received the "Outstanding Young Citizen" award at the age of 21.
His charity work has consisted of American Cancer Society, Toys For Tots, Easter Seals as well as events for children with illnesses.
"Basically, I got the idea when I first moved down here (from Berwick) a few years ago and my daughter was in preschool," he said. "Whenever I would go in to pick her up, there was a bulletin board and there would be things like for a 7-year-old needs clothes or shoes for an 8-year-old. One time, I saw someone was actually looking for a breathing machine. I thought if your kid is asthmatic, there has to be an outlet to get a breathing machine."
This helped Hampton develop the idea for a place where people could get things to satisfy the basic needs of children and families, where people would either email or write a letter telling that they can't afford things such as eyeglasses for their child.
Instead of handing out money for the glasses, The Community Solution6 Project would go to the doctor, make the appointment and take care of everything, such as the cost.
The parent would then just take their child to the appointment.
"That way you don't have a heroine-addicted mom just looking for free money, where you just give her $100 and the kid never sees the glasses," he said. "We would pay the bill, the nonprofit."
He imagines it will be the same with other things as well, such as shoes or jackets, and they could give the person in need a gift certificate to go purchase the item.
"The best scenario would be about a dozen people from the community that would meet once a month and go through all the emails and give to the top priority cases," he said.
Not limiting the assistance to just clothing, other things he imagines the project will be able to do is possibly help someone like a single mother of three children who is two months behind on her rent to be able to catch up by paying those two months or helping out people that are short on food for the month.
"You can't go there and say I'm about ready to lose my house and I'm about 8 months behind on my mortgage," he said.
Hampton started the online crowdsourced campaign since he needs to raise enough money for it to become obtain 501(c)(3) nonprofit status to be able to seek state grants.
He tried to put aside money of his own, but said he would never be able to save enough for that by himself.
That was when someone asked him about doing a crowdsourcing campaign to raise funds the same way he did for his band, Gas Station Disco.
The band raised $1,670 in September 2012 through Kickstarter, also known as the "world's largest funding platform for creative projects."
"Once the Indiegogo thing ends, even if I only get to like $1,500 or $1,800, I'll probably be able to come up with the rest," Hampton said.
The difference between Indiegogo and Kickstarter is with Kickstarter you have to raise all the money or you get nothing, and with Indiegogo, you get to keep any money that you raise, regardless if you reach your goal.
There are different donation levels with prizes for each level.
The lowest is $10, where the person who donates receives a thank you and will be "kept in the look about CS6" and the highest is $1,000, where that person is invited to become a board member among other things.
Hampton is advertising the nonprofit through multiple forms of social media including Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, Google+ and a blog.
On the blog, he shares facts about poverty daily.
"Twenty-three percent of all children in the U.S. are below the poverty level," Hampton said.
Anyone interested in donating to the nonprofit can check out www.communitysolution6.org or www.indiegogo.com/projects/the-community-solution6-project.