Kimberly Quinn

Published online on Sunday, Dec. 28, 2008

Age: 44

Occupation: Unemployed, seeking entry level medical assistant position.

Hobbies: Love to read, write, crochet and spend time with my kids.

Bee reader since: 1991.

How many letters: 10 since 2005.

Favorite topics: Politics, current events, religion, anything that makes me think.

Why do you write? Mostly to make people think. It's too easy to just accept things without evaluation. Besides, my family gets tired of hearing me rant.

Excerpt from recent letter: "The Dec. 8 paper contained a very misleading headline: 'Checking in on charity-most large nonprofit agencies spend more than what is recommended for programs.' Out of curiosity, I read on.

"You stated that experts recommend 60% or above as a bench mark for the amount an agency should spend on programs to help those it serves. You then profile 10 charities. Out of the 10, none fell below the benchmark of 60%. In fact most were above 80%.

"In a time when people are being more careful with money and less is being given to charity, a headline like yours is not only misleading, but has the potential of scaring people away from giving at all. Shame on you. I only hope the public took the time to read and continues to be generous with giving."

Reaction to letters: Mostly positive; at least it gets people talking.

Topic that doesn't get enough attention: The lack of individual responsibility in society, the "it's all about me" attitude that is so common.

Education: Associate degree in American Sign Language, recently graduated Fresno Adult School -- clinical medical assistant training.

Family: Husband, Paul; three daughters, Jessica, age 13; Allison and Alyssa, age 11.

Political philosophy: Morally conservative, fiscally moderate, but I vote based on who is best qualified and how issues will affect all the people.

-- Compiled by Pam Rowse