• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to footer
  • Orphan X
  • Praise
  • Bio
  • Other Books
  • News / Events
  • Contact
  • Donate
  • UK Homepage

Gregg Hurwitz - New York Times Bestselling Author

Do You Need My Help? Logo

“Do you need my help?”

That’s how Orphan X answers the phone every time someone calls his encrypted number. On the other end of the line is someone with nowhere else to turn, someone being terrorized at the hands of others, someone in desperate need of Orphan X’s highly specialized and dangerous skills.

Orphan X (aka Evan Smoak) understands what it means to have nothing. Abandoned as a newborn, he bounced through the foster care system in East Baltimore before being pulled out at the age of twelve and trained as an assassin in a full-black, full-deniability government program. His handler and father figure told him, “The hard part won’t be making you a killer. The hard part will be keeping you human.”

But keep him human he did. After neutralizing targets on six continents—drug lords, human traffickers, dictators—and becoming a legend in the shadow service, Evan broke with the Orphan Program and went off the radar.

Now he only answers to his own moral compass. And he only answers his own encrypted line, 1-855-2-NOWHERE. Give it a ring. See what happens.

His name is whispered in the corridors of power. He doesn’t just know where the bodies are buried; he buried most of them himself. His stories have been translated into thirty languages.

But now Orphan X asks a different question:

“Can we have your help?”

The Do You Need My Help? Fund is there to provide immediate direct crisis relief for people who are on the verge of falling through the gaps in the safety net here in America.

  • A used car for a worker who is walking four miles each way to work.
  • Travel money for a family whose child needs a surgery two states over.
  • A computer lab for a rural school below the poverty line.
  • A modest down-payment for a mortgage that allows a working family to move from itinerant housing into a place of their own.

Many folks are right on the financial edge. Nearly half of Americans cannot cover a $400 emergency. This fund is designed for small donations, generally between 1k-15k, to help them get back on their feet.

Do You Need My Help? Logo

As the fund is a 501c3, all donations are tax deductible.

We ask for your help, no matter how small.

Because anyone can be a hero.

donate now

After Orphan X completes a mission, he asks his client for only one thing: to find someone else in need, someone who might escape his notice but who they would see.

In this spirit, once Do You Need My Help? provides aid, we ask the deserving recipient to pick someone else to give $250 dollars to, a final act of empowerment.

Charity Stories

Do you need my help? Charity Story 1, image of dining room

An unhoused couple and their sick newborn baby were in trouble

READ MORE

Three months ago, following a chain of unfortunate events, the family found themselves on the street.

For this couple who, until recently, had steady work, it was the perfect storm. After their car broke down, the new father lost his job because he couldn’t get transportation to the workplace. They spent all their savings moving to more affordable housing, but then got evicted.

The situation became more serious when their baby was diagnosed with an RSV infection. The family needed a roof over their heads while they figured out what to do next. Fortunately, a relative gave them a small loan so they were able to stay in a nearby hotel for two weeks. Their stay at the hotel was nearly up when they reached out to Emily Partin for support.

Partin, co-chair of our Grundy County 3142 taskforce, really wanted to help. However, churches were no longer paying for hotel rooms and other avenues of funding weren’t viable. Through her position with Catholic Charities, Emily enrolled the parents in their food service program and helped them apply for food stamps. Essential first steps, but not enough. The parents still needed assistance to pay for the hotel until their baby’s health improved and their situation became stable. So, Emily paid out of pocket for their hotel until making a request from the Do You Need My Help? Fund. We’re grateful to be able to help see the family through this difficult time.

There are reasons to hope. While the mother breastfeeds and tends to her baby, the father signed up with the American Job Centers, which offers career counseling, job listing and other employment- related services. His long term goal is to become active military or law enforement. For now, he was just hired to work a factory job, which starts this week. The struggle has lessened but it’s not over: Until the transportation issue is resolved, the father wil be relying on his sister to get to and from work, which is 30 miles away. Our support continues. The family is applying for addition funding from DYNMH and we’ll be here to help them thrive.

With every Do You Need My Help? Fund donation, we ask the recipient to pick someone else to give $250 to — someone who might not be noticed by others but who the recipient knows is in need. This young Grundy famliy used the money to purchase a $250 grocery card for their son’s maternal grandmother. She helps care for her grandson, and this money will be used to cover basic necessities as the family gets back on their feet.

do you need my help charity story 1 image of bedroom do you need my help charity story 1 image of dining room
COMMUNITY CENTER -78 (1)

A senior citizen needed help with housing

READ MORE

“Clare” is a 62 year old woman who has been living on the edge. 

Just before the pandemic, a terrible car accident left her with multiple injuries which required her to learn how to walk again. At that time, Clare lost her job and qualified for disability. With a mortgage of $450 plus utilities, there was no way she could afford to continue living alone, so she found a roommate. Over the next few months, that roommate brought multiple friends to stay at Clare’s home, and the group took over the space, conducting sketchy activities. It was too much. Clare moved out, choosing to sell the house to the roommate on a rent-to-own basis. But the mortgage continued to come out of Clare’s check and her former roommate wasn’t great about paying.

With resources already stretched thin, Clare tried to make arrangements to live with individuals who needed personal care in exchange for housing. She didn’t have enough takers to to make this work, and found herself living in her car with her dog. This wasn’t so bad, she said, until the car broke down. With no money to make repairs, Clare had the car towed to a vacant lot outside of town and parked herself there. The property was far from any neighbors or local resources, so she was stuck. No water. No electricity.  She made due by creating a campfire, using it to cook and stay warm.  As the weather turned colder, though, it was clear that she couldn’t stay there without suffering greatly. 

DYNMH has helped move Clare into a local hotel that’s close to the resources she needs, like the grocery store and the doctor. She’s doing much better emotionally and physically since moving into this private space.  At this time, she has about $600 per month to put toward housing, and has already put $300 towards another week at the hotel. Her money is running out quickly.  We have arranged for her to do some work for a local restaurant for a few hours a week with pay going directly toward the hotel cost while we help her find more permanent housing.  We’ve helped Clare put in an application at the local housing authority in hopes that something might become available after the first of the year. 

do you need my help charity story 2 image of motel do you need my help charity story 2 image of motel room

Partnering with Millions of Conversations’ 3142 Program, which aims to place experts in economic development and community building in each of America’s 3142 counties, the Do You Need My Help? Fund will rely on our on-the-ground leaders to direct donations to the most deserving for maximum impact. This ensures that the cycle of charity occurs at a local level and reinforces the values of giving and gratitude within that community.

Do You Need My Help? Logo

CAN WE HAVE YOUR HELP?

donate now

Footer

Latest News

PARAMOUNT PLAYERS OPTIONS EIGHT NOVELS FROM GREGG HURWITZ’S “MARKED MAN” SERIES.

Gregg Hurwitz will produce the films with Emmy winner Scott Frank, producer of Netflix’s “The Queens Gambit.” Paramount Players will look for diverse and possibly first-time writers and directors to create the world for the contemporary noir thrillers. Details here.

Latest tweet

  • Loading tweets...

Follow @GreggHurwitz

  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • Twitter
  • YouTube

Get on the list

BE THE FIRST TO KNOW ABOUT NEW BOOKS AND EVENTS →

© 2022 Gregg Hurwitz