News 12 at 6 o'clock, December 21, 2009

AUGUSTA, Ga.---Cyberbegging is a new way to ask for help and with the holidays here, it's more popular than ever before.

These websites are changing the way people ask for money as the need in the CSRA and across the country continues to grow.

Begslist, Cyberbeg, DonateMoney2me are just a handful of websites geared at helping people receive and give.

People like Bobby Berry. He was watching News 12 and saw a family lose everything in a Thanksgiving Day fire. He reacted, buying clothes for the two young boys.

"Everywhere you look, every time you open the paper, every time you look at the news, people are just needing help so you can't just overlook it -- you have to do something," says Bobby Berry.

And there are more people doing something, like donating money on these cyber begging sites.

"It's a beautiful thing to be able to help another family have Christmas the way that they should, this is all for the kids," says Bobby.

Just a few clicks brings up a PayPal account and hundreds of pleas for help.

"It's the season. I mean, people just out here need help and I figure, I'm in a place, I'm blessed enough to be able to help someone so I just wanted to go ahead and help someone," adds Bobby.

The phones at the United Way 211 Center have been ringing off the hook, as more and more people in our backyards need a helping hand this year.

"A lot of the people that are calling 211 are individuals who've never needed help before and are finding themselves needing resources for the first time," says Brooke Howell, Community Impact Director for The United Way of the CSRA.

Calls about resources have been up 40 percent this year, while the resources themselves have been down -- leading many to the internet. "People will use technology, people will use anything they can to get their story out there and to try to get help," adds Howell.

But once Christmas has come and gone, the need still lingers. "That inspiration alone is causing other people to go deeper in their pockets and help the next person," adds Bobby.

Making Bobby even more grateful. "I'm thankful every day I get up and go to work that I have a job to even go to," says Bobby.

The downside to all this giving and receiving is these websites can't really prevent scammers, or thieves from posting ads. A few of them say they monitor it closely, but donate carefully.

If you're asking for help, make sure you don't give out your contact information, make sure its going through a money transferring website, like PayPal, and don't send money to someone promising help