Kendra Myers is HIV positive. Her teenaged daughter Jaxxon has Crohn's disease. And now Myers' husband of 15 years and the family's breadwinner, Tim, is dying from liver cancer.
Help them out and you could be thanked online, through a phone call or even a hug.
Myers' friend Kerri Jackson, after whom the Myers daughter is named, started fundraising campaigns for the family on Facebook and the online fundraising site Indiegogo. The money will help with funeral costs, mortgage payments, medical bills, everyday expenses and a modest future getaway for mother and daughter.
Kelly Hunter in Nova Scotia alerted the Courier to her friend's campaign, noting Jackson is giving back to donors if they choose to receive a perk.
Donors who pitch in $25 to "The Myers family.. Life is dang hard.. fund" on Indiegogo can receive an online thank you. A $50 donation can collect a handshake or a phone call and a hug. Contributors of $100 can accept a handwritten thank you and a coffee, and those who donate $1,000 receive all of the above plus a $10 coffee gift card and a photo of the Myers family.
More notably, Jackson vowed to carry out favours for her friends on Facebook who give to her friend of 23 years.
"If any of my friends donate $100 to $200 I will clean your house for a week! $200-$400_ I will clean house once a week for a month and wash your car. $400 or more_ 1 month house cleaning and car washing, and I'll make you dinner each time," she posted on her Facebook page.
"That didn't take off very much, thank goodness," Jackson, produce manager at the Costco downtown, told the Courier Tuesday. "And then we got busy on an art auction."
Artist Nathan Davis has donated two acrylic paintings to be auctioned off with bids accepted until 5 p.m. on Sept. 1. Details are under "Updates" for the fund on Indiegogo. "I don't expect people that don't know them to donate for nothing," Jackson added. "I have time on my hands so it's something I can do. I work full-time, but I don't have kids or anything like that."
Many of Jackson's contacts don't know the Myers family because they live in Kennewick, Wash. But Jackson had surpassed her goal of raising $5,000 before Sept. 16 by $675 as of Wednesday morning. One donor contributed $2,200. "It was kind of crazy, actually, because most of the people who've donated are from Vancouver and they don't even know her," Jackson said. "This website is really awesome because you can post pictures and updates and stuff, so many people have asked me how he's doing. It's kind of a personal experience for them now."
Tim, 38, is home from a hospice so he can spend his last days with his family.
"We're doing OK," Kendra said Tuesday by phone. "We have our [Christian] faith. We told Tim whatever decisions he wanted to do we would stand behind him and we are, and we have a lot of support with friends and family, and we have a good rapport with all of our doctors. My daughter's specialist, who is in Portland, called just to check on us, to see how we're all doing, not just Jaxxon."
All of the money raised on Indiegogo will be forwarded to the Myers family after Jackson pays the site's fee of four per cent, she said.
Twitter: @Cheryl_Rossi
