David Burnette

David Burnette solicits charitable contributions door-to-door in the Pinecrest Road Neighborhood and other areas of Durham, NC. He appears to be affiliated with Mount Zion Christian Church.

Notes

• 2011-12-11 (Woozle): David presented me with this printed letter as evidence of support from another party. He said something about staying in a hotel and trying to collect money to pay for that. The letter was not dated or signed, Googling the phone number did not turn up anything except reverse-lookup sites, and Googling the first line of the letter did not return any hits.
• 2013-02-05 Google+: repost of an email I sent the police about David

Reader Comments

anonymous user 134.67.6.11 said: Curious! David Burnette has been around Old North Durham for at least 10 years. He walks with a limp and rides a bike. I've given him a little money ($5, maybe) in the past, but don't usually any more. He had another charity last time I talked to him.

Donations

From about 2005-2007, I kept a record of everything I gave to David Burnette. (I continued to give him money and rides sporadically after this.) Others are welcome to list their contributions.

• 2007-12-29 16:15 Woozle: I've been two busy/distracted to note one or two other times I gave him rides. This most recent time, though, he was needing rent money because (through a convoluted story with details I don't entirely feel like I should post publicly) he's being evicted from a rooming house and in danger of losing his kids which were suddenly put into his care. I was extremely torn but decided not to loan him $60; instead, put gave him directions and phone number for a church frequented by the kids' grandparents and generally into providing social support. I hope I wasn't mistaken about that...
• 2006-12-03 11:08 Woozle: Harena saw him at the door with a kid, but by the time I got there they were both walking out of the driveway. Apparently he has decided that if Harena sees him, no answer will be forthcoming (which, although not entirely true, suits me fine).
• 2006-08-25 19:50 Woozle: Was soliciting for "Carolina Children", showed me some paperwork (if I'd been bolder, I would have asked to copy it) about the organization; I wrote him a check for $10 on the business checkbook.
• 2006-06-08 (afternoon) Woozle: Said he was moving to Raleigh and needed help paying for the rental truck; also mentioned he had been burglarized recently and lost a lot of stuff. I said I could probably do $5; he asked for $10, but H talked me back down to $5 (offstage).
• 2006-02-17 20:00 Woozle: Came by right at bedtime and said he was looking for Motrin and Pedialyte to help his son who has asthma (and who just came back from the hospital, if I remember correctly what he said); he also tried really hard to get a couple of dollars from me. I gave him a dozen or so Ibuprofen (might have been Motrin or some other brand).
• (2006-01-27 Woozle: received a "record of contributions" from Mt. Zion showing a $10.00 contribution in the name of my business – maybe I wrote him a check on Red House's checkbook? – and then the next day another record showing a $10 contribution in my name)
• 2006-01-11 17:30 Woozle: gave him a ride home.
• 2005-12-25 Woozle: $10.00 cash (all the bills in my pocket - a five and five ones) – he said he was in a desperate situation because although he had gotten everything lined up for Christmas for his kids (presents, and other things I don't remember), he had been late collecting his social security and didn't have anything for them to eat. He said he had been to most of the houses in the neighborhood and almost everyone was out of town, so he hadn't been able to get anything. He also asked for a ride over to Fayetteville Street; I reluctantly told him that it wasn't raining or especially cold and we were about to start dinner so I'd really rather not.

Ancient History

• 2003-07 exact date unknown Woozle: David borrowed $25 and installed 2 fenceposts for $15 each, leaving credit balance of $5 (my notes say "these two posts were extra easy because they were mostly done, but I paid him the full $15/post as a kindness. Additional posts are still $15/post unless he wants to do them by the hour or something.")
• 2003-07-28 Woozle: David installed post #3 in fence for $15 and borrowed $50; balance (5+15-50=) $30
• 2003-07-29 Woozle: loaned $60 cash; balance $90
• 2003-08-01 Woozle (date is best guess): David paid back $50; balance $40
• 2003-08-16 Woozle: loaned $20 cash (balance $60)
• 2003-08-25 Woozle: loaned $2 bus fare (balance $62)
• 2003-11-06 Woozle: loaned $2 bus fare (balance $64)

After that, he didn't come back for many months; when he did, I reminded him of the $64 he owed me. I also gave him a lot of rides during the above time-period and after he started showing up again, but I gradually cut back to zero on those because he always came right at dinnertime. There were some additional donations either directly to him or to Mt. Zion, the charity he apparently works for; I'll dig these up when I can. --Woozle 17:47, 25 December 2005 (EST)