KEEPING OUR PERSPECTIVE

KEEPING OUR PERSPECTIVE
Family Reunion by Laverne Ross

Tuesday, March 4, 2008

POST REMIX: ABOUT MY VISIT TO MY LOCAL WACHOVIA BRANCH TO GIVE TO THE DUNBAR VICTIM FUND

Back in December I wrote a post about the trust fund that was established for the Dunbar Village victim and her son and my experience donating to it. I can simply link the article but I think it would be more effective to re edit it and keep it fresh in everyone's minds.


"Now fast forward to two months later to my visit to the Lynwood Wachovia branch. I went there to make my payment to the trust fund. The teller was a sweet woman named Benita who said she was more than happy to help me. I told her of the trust fund and the atrocity at Dunbar and she was visably horrified and asked again what she could do. Unfortunately when she tried to look up the trust fund she could not find it. I gave her the words Dunbar Victim Village Assitance Fund and Dunbar Village Fund. She looked again and again and even called a help center that was located in Florida (The woman who tried to help had not heard of the crime) but found nothing.

Benita then suggested that we locate the Wachovia branch in West Palm Beach that helped to start the trust fund. It was not easy and we both were looking in mapquest and even Wachovia's web site. Finally Benita suggested that we call the church the trust fund originated, St. Ann's Catholic Church. She called and reached someone there who gave us the directions to the Wachovia that we were looking for. Then Benita was able to find the number to the Wachovia branch and called. When told of the reason for the call, I could hear the receptionist pause then gasp and say,"Oh her." They are fully aware of the crime down there.
Anyway, Benita was able to get the name of the account which was St. Ann's Church and I was able to make my deposit. I really want to thank this woman because she was patient, kind and helped me in every way. She's also expecting and I 'm going to get her a gift. Thank you Benita, for helping me and being the epitome of the professional worker and for being kind and considerate. I really do appreciate it.

Nice story isn't it? It is always nice to know that there are good people out there who are willing to help.

So for those of us committed to helping this woman and her son we must do the following in terms of the Victim Trust fund:

  1. Visit all of the Wachovia branches that we can to make a deposit to the trust fund. There are many around this country now so there is no excuse not to go.
  2. When we go to the Wachovia branch remember to tell the teller about the fund and to look it up under St. Ann's Church. This is important because there have been reports of various branches and people who are having trouble with locating the trust fund. Remember also that Wachovia is rapidly expanding and have taken over many banks, which results in the systems sometimes taking awhile to get in sync. Knowing the right words to use to locate the trust fund will make the process move quickly.
  3. Continue to tell those we know to give to the trust fund in person!
  4. Try to set up a satellite center at some branches to give attention to the Dunbar horror and for people to be able to locate and give to the fund without any problems.

I am in the process of doing this with the Wachovia that I visited and I also want to set up a collection within the Lynwood Unified School District (The office is not far from the bank) and have it sent to Wachovia.

I hope my story of my local Wachovia visit has been helpful. Remember during this holiday season the victim and her son are still suffering. They are in hiding and need money for basic necessities and other needs. They need are prayers but they also need our collective action. Please give to the trust fund. Remember it is under St. Ann's Fund."


Update: I was not able to contact Benita before she went on her maternity leave but I will go to the bank this week and look for her so that I can thank her again and leave her a gift.

Let us not forget the victim and her son. We must not forget what they have and continue to go through as a result of what those beasts did to her. Last I checked six of the rapists are still running around free in the area and we have to keep agitating for real change to occur so we can prevent more crimes of humanity like this from happening.


1 comment:

Christina Springer said...

I really enjoy the personalized approach to your activism. You go to the bank. You tell the story. You put a face to the numbers of people who want to help. That's powerful.