I’m an active-duty father of four currently navigating a difficult transition while raising my children largely on my own. After reaching out to the Fort Irwin community, I received an incredible number of offers from people willing to help. I created this page so I can organize that support in one place without losing track of anyone or making coordination more complicated than it needs to be. My biggest need right now is consistent, small amounts of household help during the weekday hours when my children and I are away at work, school, and childcare. The idea is simple: one hour at a time. There is no expectation that someone clean an entire house or complete a specific amount of work. Whatever can reasonably be accomplished during that hour helps. It could be starting laundry, dishes, picking up, vacuuming, wiping something down, or eventually helping with simple maintenance as the house gets caught up. I will continue cleaning and working on the home myself. The help offered here simply adds another hour of progress during a part of the day when I physically cannot be home. People have also generously offered other types of support, so this page may occasionally include requests for meals, household assistance, or other needs as they arise. Thank you to everyone who has offered their time, resources, encouragement, or support. The response from this community has meant more to my family and me than I can adequately put into words. 🫶
Yes. With all the changes we’ve made, this still works well as the Special Notes section. It clearly establishes the boundaries without contradicting your original offer. I’d make only two small additions now because they became important later in the planning: Explicitly encourage people who can volunteer to leave the paid slots for someone who could use the $20. Explain what happens to unused portions of your $100/week budget. I’d use this final version: Please do not feel obligated to volunteer or provide anything financially. Every form of help is appreciated, but NONE is expected. I have budgeted $20 FOR ONE PAID, ONE-HOUR HELP SLOT EACH WEEKDAY, as stated in my original post. Because several people are interested in paid help, please limit yourself to 2 PAID SLOTS PER WEEK so others have a reasonable opportunity as well. Paid slots are part of this community-help effort and should not be viewed as guaranteed or recurring income. The $20 PAID/PRIMARY SLOT COVERS ONE HOUR ONLY. If a paid helper chooses to stay beyond that hour, any additional time is completely voluntary on their part and is not expected or included in the $20 payment. If you are volunteering, you are MORE THAN WELCOME TO HELP FOR LESS THAN AN HOUR, ONE HOUR, OR LONGER THAN AN HOUR, depending entirely on your availability and what you are comfortable giving. There is no required amount of volunteer time. If you are in a position where you are comfortable volunteering, I genuinely encourage you to choose a volunteer slot. Doing so helps leave the limited paid opportunities available for another member of the community who may genuinely benefit from the extra $20. That said, PLEASE DO NOT FEEL BAD ABOUT CHOOSING A PAID SLOT IF THE MONEY WOULD HELP YOU. The paid option exists for a reason. PAID AND VOLUNTEER HELP ARE EQUALLY APPRECIATED! Any portion of my $100 weekly household-help budget that is not used will simply roll forward to help cover future days when paid assistance may be needed or go toward rebuilding a small family emergency fund for unexpected expenses. For privacy and security reasons, my exact address and any necessary home-access information will only be provided directly to confirmed helpers. Household-help requests are generally available sometime between 0530–1730 ON WEEKDAYS. Whatever reasonably gets done during the time you choose to give is enough. There is no quota or expectation to finish any particular task. If you already offered help through Facebook, thank you for your patience while I organize everyone here. The response was far greater than I ever expected, and I’m trying to make this as simple, fair, inclusive, and sustainable as possible for everyone who wants to participate. 🫶