Plight of the Unemployed Spurs Writers at Associated Content

What started out as a simple cry for awareness of the needs of the unemployed quickly snowballed into writers banding together to help, by putting their pen where their mouth is.

Along with hundreds of thousands of others in this country, single mom S. Gardner has been hit by the economic crunch and is currently unemployed. To spread awareness of the hardships faced by so many, she frequently writes about the challenges being met as unemployment insurance payments threaten to run out, and Congress continues to haggle over the issue of more extensions.

"I know there are folks on both sides of the issue. I'm unemployed but you might be surprised which side I'm on. But whatever you believe politically, there are many, many people and families out there that may be losing their homes or apartments or cars and everything they own as I type this. They don't know how they will get food for their kids or where they will sleep at night or how they will possibly ever get back on their feet again. "

Gardner, who publishes on Associated Content, sent a plea to her fellow writers, imploring them to remember the needs of the unemployed who have families to feed. "I just wanted to let you know about this, in case it wasn't something you were aware of. If you think of us, please say a prayer. Perhaps see if there is a way you can help through a food bank or your church. I guarantee there are people going to these places for help, and the churches are hurting in this economy, too."

Those words were all it took for dozens of freelance writers to take up the cause.

Many Associated Content writers took Gardner's words to heart and vowed to help where they could. R. Elizabeth C. Kitchen, a featured Health and Wellness, Education, and Local Contributor from Cleveland, rallied writers to donate unneeded free samples to their local shelters - promotional items they may receive in the mail or while traveling. She also challenged her peers to utilize their writing skills to publish articles related to unemployment and the current economic situation in this country - where to donate in your area, how to get help, human interest stories about homelessness, etc. Kitchen extended that challenge to add that for every article written during a specified two-day period, she would donate one can of food to her local food pantry.

More than one writer pledged to match her donation as others scurried to get articles and blog posts written before the deadline. Several penned blogs to include links of articles published during the challenge, thereby expanding the readership even further.

Many of these writers are out of work themselves and freelance while searching for traditional employment that provide much needed benefits. Others write from home so they can bring in a few dollars while staying home with their children.

How can you help these writers help themselves while helping others?

Writers on Associated Content earn money based on the volume of readership of their articles. You can support these writers by reading some of the articles that interest you and further supporting the causes they've written about. Linda St. Cyr's blog, Gaiai Fights Hunger, contains links to a good number of worthy reads.

Reading this article is a start, as this writer will continue to offer a portion of her monthly earnings from freelance writing to various charities in Ross County. Ohio has been particularly hard hit, with unemployment rates in 64 of its 88 counties topping the latest national unemployment figure of 9.5%, with Clinton County reaching a high of 16.7% during May of this year (latest figures available).

Sources:

Discussions with Associated Content Writers
State of Ohio Bureau of Labor Market Information
U.S. Dept of Labor, Bureau of Labor Statistics