As much as the original thought of an emergency fund was a caring gesture, I do not believe it would work. I DO however like the idea of a "list" of people who could be contacted if an emergency came up.
I would like to propose a way to do it, maybe you can add to this idea and we can come up with a working plan.
I think there should be one person with the names. No one would know who was on this list except for the one in charge of it. Anyone needing help would PM the peson in charge and that person would PM all the people on the list. Then each person would weigh the pros and cons, concider their own financial situation and respond to the one in need if they could. With the list being private, it would prevent hurt feelings if person "A" donated to #1 but not to #2.
Is this a possible idea?