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Derek is a single parent of a teenage son and a daughter in primary school - help us after the death of my husband

After the death of my husband, Derek is raising a teenage son and a daughter in primary school alone and needs $2,400 to stay afloat for 6 months.

🇺🇸 Los Angeles, California, United States2,973 views
Derek G. Marquez
Email verified
Los Angeles
Last March I went through the death of my husband, and I'm now raising a teenage son and a daughter in primary school on my own. I work as a school kitchen assistant, but my income doesn't cover rent, childcare and groceries. I'm retraining as a teaching assistant in the evenings, which will triple my income by June, but I need to bridge the gap until then. Some weeks I skip meals so my children can eat. I have never asked anyone for help like this before, and I'm doing it for them. Once I finish my course, I'll pay it forward. Every cent is accounted for. I'll share a simple monthly breakdown. Where the $2,400 goes: • Groceries and school meals: $500 • Course fees and exam costs: $770 • Rent top-up: $1,130 Thank you for reading my story. - Derek
#single-parent#family#stability

Updates from Derek

  1. Update from Los Angeles: I met with the landlord and confirmed the amounts. We're at 71% of the goal. Thank you for believing in us.

  2. Thank you all. We're at 59% now ($1,424). I'm honestly stunned. the plan for rent top-up is now scheduled.

  3. Thank you all. We're at 31% now ($739). I'm honestly stunned. we've started the first stage.

Donations

RecentTop gifts
  • Chidi Chinedu Mba 🇳🇬 · $13
  • Anonymous 🇬🇧 · $43
  • Jia Zheng 🇦🇺 · $50
  • Josiane Viviane Guimarães 🇧🇷 · $50
  • Mina Sarita Rai 🇳🇵 · $75
  • Pavithra K. Varadarajan 🇮🇳 · $43
  • Hamisi Mussa Kiptoo 🇰🇪 · $20
  • Sophia M. Sanders 🇬🇧 · $100
  • Omolara Esther Ogunleye 🇳🇬 · $10
  • Sami Mohammed Tawfik 🇸🇦 · $10

    “Hope things get better. Thought of Derek all day after reading this. - Riyadh”

  • Anonymous 🇮🇳 · $5
  • Ksenia Polina Andreev 🇷🇺 · $50

    “All the best. Been where you're, it gets better. - Yekaterinburg”

  • Laura Ana Serban 🇷🇴 · $25

    “Best of luck. Thought of Derek all day after reading this. - București”

  • Anonymous 🇧🇷 · $15
  • Eren Hakan Erdoğan 🇹🇷 · $15

    “Rooting for you. Thought of Derek all day after reading this. - Istanbul”

  • Gabriela H. Castillo 🇺🇸 · $5
  • Abdul Jahid Siddique 🇮🇳 · $20
  • Binod Sagar Bajracharya 🇳🇵 · $20

    “Stay strong. Hope you get the rest soon. - Pokhara”

  • Zulkifli Muhammad Susanto 🇮🇩 · $5
  • Yuni Kartika Suryadi 🇮🇩 · $100

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  • Leo D. Santos

    Thinking of you, Derek. Hope this works out for you. The breakdown of costs made it easy to trust. Take care

    • Júlia Simone RochaPhoto verified

      Keep going, Derek. Gave what I could, wish it was more. We lost years of savings to something like this so I get it. Love from Brest.

      • Senthil E. SivakumarPhoto verified

        stay strong, Derek. I was in a similar spot a few years ago and it did get better. My neighbor in Quezon City donated after I showed her your page. Blessings

        • Venkat Iyer

          Stay strong. Hope you get there. I'll check back for the next update. Greetings from Coimbatore

          • Pilar Romero

            sending strength, Derek. This could happen to any of us

            • Antônio Wagner Silva

              Hang in there, Derek. This could happen to any of us. God bless

              $2,205 raised of $2,400

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