What is T&E Care? T&E Care is a group of community members who seek to help families who live right in our area and have special financial and/or other needs (clothing, furniture, jobs, housing, etc.) . We are all just people who want to help other people in our community, and we want to try to avoid the red tape needed by most governmental agencies.
Does T&E Care just work with families impacted by Hurricane Katrina? We organized in September 2005 specifically to help families impacted by Hurricane Katrina, but as time went on, community members started to talk about similar needs for families right here in this area. As the holidays (2005) approached, we made contacts through the local schools and a few area families with special needs were anonymously identified as needing additional support. Lists of these families’ needs were disseminated to those involved with T&E Care. Many local community members stepped up and, within just a few weeks, almost all of the identified needs were met. We realized we could help local families in need, so we changed our focus to assist those families.
What future plans does T&E Care have for helping families? T&E Care will try to lend support to a local family who needs a little extra assistance when in a transition or emergency situation. We can’t make any promises since we are simply “families helping families” and not a formal government organization, but we feel confident that people in this community will do everything possible to help get the family back on its feet again. All requests for help are authenticated and in all cases we are very sensitive to confidentiality for those receiving the assistance.
Does T&E Care have any administrative expenses? T&E Care held its organizational meeting on February 23, 2006, at which time the Board agreed that it would work only with unpaid volunteers and that none of the directors or officers would receive any compensation for their services.
Can financial donations be made to T&E Care? We would appreciate any donations at any time! They will be used to help cover some of the costs related to helping families in need. So far we’ve helped with items such as utility bills, the purchase of some household items, rent, daycare expenses, some college start-up costs, medicines, counseling, parenting classes, etc. Feel free to send in a donation anytime as directed on the Donation page.
Do you accept donations via credit card? We have a PayPal account and a link from our donation page to that account. Please note that there is a small service fee that we have to pay to PayPal for this right, so if you can send a donation via check, that saves us that fee.
Are you part of United Way? Officially we are not listed there - the process to be listed is quite cumbersome, and the fees that are subtracted by United Way are significant, so we chose not to be officially on their list. We'd rather encourage donors to make donations right to us. HOWEVER, if your company requires United Way contributions or you just really like going through them, you can always hand-write us in for the donation. We have had some donations come to us that way. Our official name is Tredyffrin & Easttown Care.
Are donations to T&E Care tax deductible? Yes, all donations are tax deductible to the fullest extent allowed by law. T&E Care is an IRS recognized non-profit organization under section 501(c)(3) of the tax code.
Are you expecting only donations of money? No! We expect there will be times when donations of clothing, computers, furniture, toys, books, etc. will also be needed. We also accept donations of cars! There may be times when we need contacts for housing help, medical advice, jobs, etc. The T&E Care network will be mobilized as needed to respond to specific requests within the community, rather than searching for such needs. NOTE: We do not have storage for "stuff" - so if we don't have a specific need for something, then we likely won't take it. There are lots of other good options for making donations on our website.
Can anyone join T&E Care? Absolutely! We have no membership requirements except that you are someone who cares and wants to make a difference for other people. We’d love the entire community to become involved. By just adding your name to our database (please fill out attached form), you will be notified by email when needs occur. You will never be obligated to help out except when a situation touches your heart.
Can people volunteer to help with T&E Care? We LOVE volunteers! There are lots of ways that volunteers can help out - see a partial list on our Volunteer page. If you can help in any of those or another way - just let us know!
T&E Care is an IRS recognized non-profit organization under section 501(c)(3) of the tax code. The official registration and financial information of Tredyffrin & Easttown Care may be obtained from the Pennsylvania Department of State by calling toll free, within Pennsylvania, 1 (800) 732-0999. Registration does not imply endorsement.
**IMPORTANT NOTE** If you change your email address - please remember to notify us so we can keep you on our email list!!