Generally I don’t ask for help when it comes to money.  I figure people have issues of their own and don’t have the resources to spare.  Every once in awhile however others around me need a helping hand.  My husband and I do what we can, but it’s extremely small unfortunately.

Recently, my father had the misfortune of having his vehicle break down on the freeway, I-5 if you want the specifics.  He managed to get it to the side of the road and left it there and proceeded to work on foot since he can’t miss a day due to his low wage.  When my husband went to pick him up from work then go look into getting it towed, the car was missing.  Long story short, it was towed since it was on I-5 and the car had been vandalized.  Both the front and back windows were smashed and it’ll be costly to repair I’m told.

To get it back Jon and I spent what remaining resources we had to pick it up from the impound and get it towed back to his place.  We’re tapped out.  I’m currently in the process of selling what little my father has in the way of hard goods to make any money to help the situation.  Unfortunately I don’t think that will provide the funds we need to get him back on the road.

So it is with great reluctance I ask any of you out there for any funds you could donate to the cause.  Any sum would be of great help and value and will go with whatever other funds I can raise to help my dad repair his car so he can keep his job and have a home to live in.  I feel extremely bad for asking, but we’re out of options.  If I had known this would happen, I would not have attended the Nintendo Media Summit in San Francisco and instead given those funds to my dad.

If anyone does donate, I will be keeping everyone up to date on the situation with this post.  Scans of receipts will be posted so everyone can see what the current progress is.

I thank everyone who can donate from the bottom of my heart.  I also thank those who cannot donate but who mean well.

Thank you for taking the time to read this plea.

UPDATE

I have removed the donation link because the goal has been met.  Instead of fix his old car which would have cost more in the end, we opted to find a car on Craigslist.org.  The car was $500 and your donations helped raise $400 of that.  Dad’s books helped raise the other $100.

Of course at that price the car isn’t without problems, however they are minor such as broken cruise control and no power steering.  It seems to run fine and managed to pass emissions with flying colors.  If you’re curious about the old white car, that will most likely be going to a junk yard since it no longer runs.

I just want to express my happiness to everyone who donated and to all who wished my father well on this.  It really means more than anyone will possibly ever know.

After he got things in order, dad wrote this thank you note for people to read:

My daughter continues to amaze and surprise me. Aren’t those just two words to say the same thing? Well no. Not really. One describes what happens in one’s mind the other in one’s heart. 

I am a man who takes some pride in making my own way, but when this particular difficulty washed up on my shores I was at a loss until out of the blue Andrea told me of what she had done and the response.

I am usually so intent on seeing to it that she weathers life’s little storms that it never occurred to me that she would see the same thing happening in my life and act on it so decisively.

It is one of the happy unexpected pleasures of parenthood to see the signs of humanity and grace in one’s offspring. And it is particularly a delight to see that she has friends of the same bent, ready to rally on the strength of a single plea from her. I wish to thank every one of you who responded to her call on my behalf.

I also want to note that NintendoGal.com has the best users in the world.  Thank you once again from the bottom of my heart (and the top!)!