Hi, I’m David Maher. I just started a new job, but my first paycheck won’t arrive before our bills do. Our rent is due on the eighteenth and utilities at the end of the month. We’re a family of seven—my wife and I, two daughters, and three sons, including an infant and a special-needs child.

This is a short-term emergency. We’ve cut every expense we can and asked for extensions, but we’re still short. Your help will keep a roof over our kids and the lights on.