Bonus eBulletin: "Thank you so so so much! From the very bottom of my heart!"

“Sinéad” contacted us on a Monday. She is in her early twenties with a young child, separated from an abusive partner and trying to find work. After our initial conversation about how much money she thought she would be able to raise, we committed to giving her a grant of £140 toward the cost of her procedure and travel.

Later that day she emailed us. She had done everything possible to get the rest of the money together:

“My mum was able to get me £100 on top of the £106 that I already paid for the flights. My sister lent me £30 (she is also currently out of work as she is on maternity leave). Also my granny was able to give me £20 despite being on state pension. And I have £9 left in the bank.”

But she was still £60 short, and she was desperate:

“I don’t know what to do now because I genuinely have nowhere left to turn. I can’t tell the baby’s dad. I have to protect this baby from him and this is the only way I can! I feel so pathetic literally begging everybody for money but I NEED to do this!”

Thanks to your donations, one of our volunteers was able to give her good news:

“Hi Sinéad,

We can absolutely cover the last £60. I’ll email the clinic today to let them know that you will bring £160 and we will give a grant to cover the rest.”

Her response was so wonderful, we wanted to share it – because without you it wouldn’t have been possible:

“What, are you joking? Can you actually really do that? Thank you so so much!! You will never ever know just how much I appreciate this. I actually feel like crying. What you do is absolutely amazing. If I were there in person I would definitely give you a massive hug!!!!!!

Thank you so so so much! From the very bottom of my heart!!!”

Thanks to you, and only thanks to you, we can actually really do that. Every donation to ASN makes a life-changing difference for someone like Sinéad. So thank you – from Sinéad, and from us.

By the way, when we asked Sinéad if we could share this story with our supporters, her response was:

“Yes of course you can use them in any way you wish! What you do is truly amazing. When I read [your] email, I literally cried. I cried because I couldn’t believe that it was going to happen. And I cried because I couldn’t believe that an absolute stranger was willing and going to help me in this way! That’s what got me the most.”

Thank you so much again for your support,

Mara

Mara Clarke

Director, Abortion Support Network

PS Want to set up a standing order, make a donation or encourage friends to do so? All the information you need to donate to ASN can be found here.