This "Penniless Do-Gooder" in NY Times

A year ago, Times' business columnist Brent Bowers asked entrepreneurs to send in current challenges to publish in his In the Hunt column. "Why that describes me perfectly," I thought, "an entrepreneur. I never thought of myself that way." Calling myself a "penniless do-gooder" I was shocked to receive an email from Brent asking to interview me over the phone.

It was Brent who initially suggested we raise our donation fee from $3 to $5. I still feel guilty about it but people seem to believe it's worth the price. Of course, if a person can't pay the full fee, all we ask is they put something in the donation basket.

So I'm appearing again in Brent's very last column for the Times, as he's retiring and is already working on a new book. I'm listed toward the end of the article right here. I found out it was in tonite's Times from fellow blogger Andrew of St. Petersburg, FL, author of BipolarPorch Blog.

Here's what Brent wrote: Ruth Deming, who appeared in this column in April 2008 with the lament that her New Directions Support Group in Philadelphia for victims of depression and bipolar disorder was so cash-poor it was turning her into a “penniless do-gooder,” has also weathered the recession.

In addition to increasing rates to participants for attending meetings to $5, from $3, New Directions has been successful at winning grants, Ms. Deming, 63, said. Last month alone, it received $15,000 from the Patricia Kind Family Foundation and $3,500 from her county’s health department. It also obtained a $2,500 gift to keep its twice-yearly magazine, The Compass, alive.“We’re still going strong,” she said.

When Brent and I spoke, he told me his own father suffered from manic depression. He was a professor of literature, I believe.

We are everywhere!