Richmond Man Turns to Ebay In Effort to Support Disabled Stepdaughter
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Added: 05/02/2005
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Richmond Man Turns to Ebay In Effort to Support Disabled Stepdaughter
RICHMOND, VA April 30, 2005 -- Encouraged by the recent success of an ebay auction held in January by a Virginia woman who raised funds for her son's cancer surgery, Richmond resident Mike Johnson has similarly listed an auction on ebay to raise funds for his disabled stepdaughter.
Johnson, 34, was inspired to list his auction on ebay after reading about Sterling, VA resident Tiffini Dingman-Grover, whose "Frank Must Die" auction garnered bids of over $10,000 for a bumper sticker bearing the slogan "Frank Must Die." Her son, David Dingman-Grover, 9, had named his tumor "Frank" after the monster in the movie "Frankenstein."
Called "Help G'Nelle (pronounced juh NELL) Break Outta Da Shell," Johnson's auction, like Dingman-Grover's, features a bumper sticker. Johnson hopes that his campaign will raise funds that will allow him to better care for his stepdaughter, G'Nelle Ross, 11, who has cerebral palsy, mild to moderate mental retardation, and epilepsy. Unable to walk, G'Nelle depends upon her mother, Sherronda Ross-Johnson and Mr. Johnson, for virtually 24-hour care.
"Da Shell," Johnson explains, represents not only the physical handicaps that cerebral palsy and epilepsy can cause, but also describes her current housing situation: being in a second-floor apartment that affords G'Nelle little access to the outside world.
"Both my wife and I have problems carrying G'Nelle, who weighs about 100 pounds, up and down some 20 steps just to get her out of the house," Johnson explained. "Because of this, G'Nelle has few opportunities to go outside, enjoy nature, or interact with other children. We feel that if the power of ebay can be used to fight cancer, it can also be used help provide more adequate housing for G'Nelle and to improve the quality of her life in spite of her disability."
Johnson's auction has attracted little attention thus far, except from ebay's customer service department, which had canceled the auction on April 25. Johnson revised and re-listed the auction, making sure that it conformed to ebay listing policy. So far, about 120 people have accessed the auction's homepage, and a high bid of $5.50 has been received.
"Ebay canceled the auction because we had asked for donations and had mentioned the amount of money needed for us to move into a more suitable dwelling for G'Nelle," Johnson said. "Since that is considered a charity auction and my wife and I are not a charity, they removed the auction. Although we wanted to create a unique auction, we had to study the Frank Must Die auction listing carefully, and we noticed that donations and specific dollar amounts were not mentioned in theirs, so, likewise, we made no references to them in our auction."
So why didn't Johnson use more traditional methods, such as going to the Department of Social Services and other local and state agencies that provide assistance to needy families?
"We did," Johnson explains, "but all we got were referrals to other agencies or agency literature. Either the agencies didn't have the funds, or the waiting lists were too long, or they appeared uninterested in helping. Many just passed us along to other agencies and we were going in circles. There is a misconception that agencies have millions of dollars waiting for people to come in to claim. Nothing could be further from the truth. Many people leave these agencies receiving no help at all."
Johnson hopes that once more people know about the auction, the amount of bids will increase. By the auction's close on May 2, he hopes to have raised at least $2,000. If not, he plans to hold the auction again.
"I am determined to help get G'Nelle what she needs, and just as important, bring attention to the fact that in many cases there is not a lot of assistance available for disabled children and their parents," Johnson said. "There are probably thousands of families like us who feel that they have nowhere to turn. The children are in shells that limit their true potential. It's time to break those shells."
Starting with G'Nelle's.
If You Want to Help
Go to ebay.com and enter Item number 6173215523, or you can type in the word "G'Nelle." If you do not have Internet access or are not an ebay member, you may call the family at (804) 269-0886. Contributions may also be mailed to PO Box 8094 Richmond, VA 23223. Please make checks payable to "Mike and Sherronda."
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