A Marriage Based on Giving
Tax deductible
Hi Friends and Family!
We are excited that you found your way to our fundraising page! We aspire to base our marriage on giving and compassion, so we are asking for you to consider making a donation to a charity, in lieu of a gift.
One of the wonderful benefits of our marriage is that Stephen is now eligible to get medical insurance through Melissa’s employer. It isn’t romantic to think about, but it is certainly an advantage of making our relationship official! We recognize that we are in an incredibly fortunate position that we have access to high-quality employer sponsored health insurance and have access to excellent care should we need it.
But recently we were shocked to learn that for many Americans, this is not the case at all.
In fact, we learned that:
-66% of US bankruptcies are tied to medical debt
-25% of US credit card debt is medical debt
Members of our immediate family have faced near financial ruin due to a medical emergency.
And to make matters even worse, unpaid medical debt is sold for pennies on the dollar to organizations hoping to profit off of people’s misery.
It doesn’t have to be that way, but it is.
Luckily, there is an organization that has figured out a unique way to help. They’re called RIP Medical Debt.
We encourage people who want to celebrate our marriage to make a donation to RIP Medical Debt.
The organization buys outstanding medical debt from debt collection agencies and then forgives it, lifting a huge burden off of families and allowing them a chance at climbing their way out of poverty.
We chose this organization because:
-RIP Medical Debt has forgiven over ONE BILLION DOLLARS of medical debt since they started in 2014
-A $10 donation forgives $1,000 in medical debt.
-They receive high marks from groups that oversee and rate charities for effectiveness.
You can read more on their website: https://ripmedicaldebt.org/ or watch one of our favorite shows, Last Week Tonight With John Oliver, that explains why medical debt is a huge problem (language not suitable for work) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hxUAntt1z2c
Thank you for considering a donation!
All our love,
Melissa & Stephen
We are excited that you found your way to our fundraising page! We aspire to base our marriage on giving and compassion, so we are asking for you to consider making a donation to a charity, in lieu of a gift.
One of the wonderful benefits of our marriage is that Stephen is now eligible to get medical insurance through Melissa’s employer. It isn’t romantic to think about, but it is certainly an advantage of making our relationship official! We recognize that we are in an incredibly fortunate position that we have access to high-quality employer sponsored health insurance and have access to excellent care should we need it.
But recently we were shocked to learn that for many Americans, this is not the case at all.
In fact, we learned that:
-66% of US bankruptcies are tied to medical debt
-25% of US credit card debt is medical debt
Members of our immediate family have faced near financial ruin due to a medical emergency.
And to make matters even worse, unpaid medical debt is sold for pennies on the dollar to organizations hoping to profit off of people’s misery.
It doesn’t have to be that way, but it is.
Luckily, there is an organization that has figured out a unique way to help. They’re called RIP Medical Debt.
We encourage people who want to celebrate our marriage to make a donation to RIP Medical Debt.
The organization buys outstanding medical debt from debt collection agencies and then forgives it, lifting a huge burden off of families and allowing them a chance at climbing their way out of poverty.
We chose this organization because:
-RIP Medical Debt has forgiven over ONE BILLION DOLLARS of medical debt since they started in 2014
-A $10 donation forgives $1,000 in medical debt.
-They receive high marks from groups that oversee and rate charities for effectiveness.
You can read more on their website: https://ripmedicaldebt.org/ or watch one of our favorite shows, Last Week Tonight With John Oliver, that explains why medical debt is a huge problem (language not suitable for work) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hxUAntt1z2c
Thank you for considering a donation!
All our love,
Melissa & Stephen
Organizer
Melissa Crane
Organizer
Chicago, IL
Undue Medical Debt
Beneficiary