Monthly Goal:
USD $15,000
Total Raised:
USD $828
Raised this month:
USD $0
Campaign funds will be received by Melanie Benson
PURPOSE:
I want to start by saying that I know we can come together to make this happen. We are all God's children and American's. There are 2 boys whose life is in danger and a family that is stranded from getting basic essentials. Their only car was totaled last May when they were hit by an illegal immigrant who was drunk. Their father is a disabled veteran because he made the ultimate sacrifice to serve this country when we needed servicemen and women at a very dangerous time in the US. Now he needs our help to keep his children safe.
They live in a small town on the outskirts of a bigger town (30,000) people at the border and the closest grocery store is 7 miles and there aren't any Uber drivers, Taxi's, or public transportation right now due to the mass influx of people. I have gone to the NGO's begging them to help this family and they refuse every time. They tell me that their resources are for illegal immigrants only. They have given illegal immigrants donated cars knowing that they don't have a license or insurance which is what happened to this family. They are totally reliant on waiting for someone to have the time to take them to the store, doctor, church and their boys to school. It is the lack of transportation to take his boys to and from school is the major issue.
We used to have hundreds of men hanging out everywhere you looked before December. Now we have thousands of men from every nation imaginable everywhere. Some work for the cartels, some are gang members, some drug runners and others are child traffickers. For the physical year 2022, according to the Center of Missing and Exploited Children 18,336 children were sex trafficked. Texas was the 2nd highest in this category. I do my best to try to take and pick these boys up from school.
Why I might not always be available. I also volunteer to go get groceries for some of our elderly residents who are to afraid to leave their homes. When I started this I only had 5 homes to take care of, now I have 21 homes. That has cut into the time I have to be sure I am there to get the kids. Having their father being able to pick them up would help me to serve more people, give him peace of mind, but most of all these boys wouldn't worry all day if someone was going to be there to take them home. They are terrified that one day they will be forced to walk with some of lifes biggest dirtbags ever watching them.
I have been asked why have I put so much time into helping them and the only thing I can say is that I feel like it was a God thing. He knows that when I start something I don't stop even if it means that I might be putting myself in danger. I feel like when God said for us to Love One Another he didn't mean when it was convient or easy. He gave his all for this country and I feel like giving back just a small amount isn't asking to much.
If you are worried that this might be a scam, you can go look at update #6. I have posted his ID card from the Marines, his service record showing that he did fight in the war in Afganastan, and his disability letter from the VA. He knows that this could get in the hands of someone that might use it for the wrong purpose, but he said that nothing is more important than his kids safety.
Please share this fundraiser even if you aren't able to contribute. The only way to make this work is for it to get in front of as many people as possible. This veteran and his family need our help. God said in Psalms 3:27 Do not pass by a man in need, for it may be the hand of God to him."
I know times are hard for everyone, but Anne Frank penned this quote and it is so true, " No one has ever become poor by giving.
#GivingTuesday
#veterans
#military
#vets
#help
#Marines
So grateful for your service!
Sending strength and positive energy to y'all. Thank you for helping this family!
Hey Melanie we WILL get this done!
We don't leave anybody behind...
God bless you trillion fold for helping ALL the people you have helped & are currently helping! We're sending prayers for you, your loved ones & for the family of this wonderful disabled veteran. I can't imagine what they're going through but I'm praying for divine intervention & that the donations flow past the goal! Praying for provisions in all areas of life for them & for you & your loved ones
I hope this helps a bit. God Bless you and God Bless this family. Dear Lord, thank you for your many blessings which allow me to help this family today. Please watch over this family and keep them safe. Open hearts and doors to help this family receive what they need. In Jesus name, Amen.
Thank you sir for your service. I know what a struggle it is. When my wife and I got out of the military with our first son our living room had 2 beach chairs as our only furniture in the whole apartment.
Prayers for healing and a new car
"Thank you so much for the donation. I cried last night because I was failing them, then today I saw the donation & I knew I was doing the right thing " By Melanie Benson
God Bless and Heal this Family
January 9th, 2024
I got as many documents and photos to prove that this fundraiser is for a disabled veteran and his boys. I did have to white out things like addresses, SSN's, DL's, any identify numbers from the VA, etc. I did include the form that shows what medals he received. It shows that he did serve in the war overseas. He got others, but these would be the ones that show he was in the war. I included his VA disability letter and pictures of him in service and his ID card. If you have any more questions, please contact me and I will get back to you. I don't want a simple question to keep someone from making a donation to help this family. These sweet boys really need our help. All you have to do is look up how many boys and girls are missing in this country and when they turned up missing. These boys worry everyday at school if I will be there to get them or will they have to walk with all these crazy entitled people all over the place. Another phase of child sex trafficking is that if an illegal immigrant gives a child to the cartels, then their debt is wiped clean. I can't imagine as an adult having to walk with these people everywhere. They don't deserve that. One last thing, PLEASE ONLY LEAVE POSITIVE MESSAGE OR PRAYERS FOR THIS FAMILY. The father reads them all the time. It has been like a theraphy to him. Everyone needs to feel like they did something good for someone else, especially when you lose part of yourself while doing it, you had to watch your buddies die and you had to take the lives of others. It's nice to be appreciated. There have only been 2 times that someone left some pretty hateful and rude messages, but it did hurt him.
October 22nd, 2023
I wanted to post an update since it has been a while. I want to thank those that have been so kind to donate to help this sweet family out. Every donation is a blessing and considered a gift of love. I recently got a reply to one of the posts and the person was kind of rude and said that this father/ veteran should have planned his life better or solved this problem by now. I want to let everyone know who follows this fundraiser that this veteran enlisted to serve the country that he loved and he didn't plan on getting injured. Yes, it is taking a while to raise the money to get them a car. However, I feel in my heart that God will bring the right people, just as he has brought those who have donated to this fundraiser in his time. Things have been very hard living at the border and all the chaos we are face every day. Right before school began this young father/veteran tried to take his life. He felt that if he died then his family would have access to his life insurance and they could get a car and mom could move them away from this nightmare. Luckily, he didn't succeed and he was hospitalized for a few days. Then we were told that he was going to be discharged even though he was in no shape to be discharged, but they needed the bed for illegal immigrants that had come here sick. This didn't help things any. When school started and they still didn't 'have a vehicle to take the boys to school he went into a deep depression. They don't live far enough from the school to ride the bus, but they live too far for 2 boys to be walking with all these single men roaming around that we have no idea who they are or what they have done. The thought of something happening to them was more than he could bear to think about. So far, I have been able to take and pick the boys up for school. I also volunteer to get groceries for some of the elderly in our community and drop them off. I take some of our elderly to their doctor appointments, errands, church, etc. A few weeks ago, we were asked to shelter in place and only go out when it's absolutely necessary. That just puts more fear in the elderly living here and that break my heart. It is certainly too dangerous to have an 8- &- 9-year-old walking to school alone. The schools here are now on permanent lock down. I can't imagine my childhood experience in school is so scary that they can't even go out to recess. There have been a couple of times I have had to leave a resident at the doctor's office, run across town and pick up the boys, take them home, and then run back to the doctor's office and picked up our resident and took her back home. The most important thing is that the boys were safe, as well as my little lady. All I know to do is keep praying and putting this in God's hands, thanking everyone who has taken the time to donate to them, and keep posting their story until we get this family a car. Again, I want to thank everyone who has helped this family out. God Bless You.
August 15th, 2023
I wanted to thank those of you who have donated money to help this incredible family get a safe vehicle for their family. It is a slow process, but we have our trust in God. I made a pledge when I undertook this journey that I would stay with it until the money was raised. I am sure that there are those that are sick of seeing my post on social media, but they are just going to have to scroll on by because I won't quit. School is fixing to start in a couple of days and I have worked out a schedule where I will be able to take and pick them up for the first three weeks. I know times are tough and I want you to know how much your donation is appreciated.
July 4th, 2023
I can't thank the 2 new people who donated to this campaign. It means the world to me and to them. I had just about given up on it when y'all donated. It reminded me to never give up on God's will. This may take forever or it might take another month. I have no idea, but I do know that this is in God's hands. I am so thankful and I feel so blessed by those of you who have helped them. The father is really struggling right now and I am praying as to whether or not to let him know that I have set this up for them. I will have to talk to with his wife to see what she thinks. I hadn't wanted to tell either of them in case I failed, but I needed to use pictures of the kids. I talked to her about it and at that time she didn't think he stable enough to know about it. She had the same fears that I did. If this failed it might hurt him even more psychologically. He would feel like he gave so much for his country and people couldn't give just a little back to help him out. Now I wonder if we should tell him and give him some hope. Maybe he would see your kindness and love as a sign that people do care about him and his family and he will understand that this could take a long to make happen. Please pray about it. I am still helping them out as much as I possibly can without it interrupting my volunteer work with the elderly. So far it has gone okay. There have been some long days, but I am making it work. Again, thank you all for your love and caring.
June 9th, 2023
Thank you to those who have helped this family. I want anyone reading this to know that this is a legitimate fundraiser. I wasn't aware that people used online fundraisers to scam people. That is really a disgusting thing to do and I don't know why people can't use that knowledge to do something constructive. I have documentation from the VA that states he did serve in the war in Afghanistan and that he is 80% disabled. I also have a copy of his military card to prove that the two items are for the same person and the picture matches up with the face in the pictures.
I have gotten a lot of referrals to other veteran organization, but only 3 of them actually help a veteran get a car. Last year those companies combined donated 13 cars to Texans. All of those sites that say donate your car for a veteran take the car and sell it for scrap metal. If anyone ever wanted to start a foundation for veterans to get a vehicle this would be a great one. I am pretty sure that I have contacted every veterans organization, charity, and government agency there is. I have not been able to find them help. So, I am going to take that as a sign from God that he has got this and someone or a bunch of someone's will make that happen.
As of today we have raised $ 465 and I am very thankful for that. If you know of a company that might be able to help this veteran please reach out to me. If you know someone that would be willing to donate them car, please reach out to me. If you have an idea to help raise money for them, please message me.
May 24th, 2023
We got a couple of donations today and we are so grateful. I feel like this is a sign that I am doing what God would want me to do. I hope that the following weeks will be as productive. Thank you, thank you, thank you, and God Bless You.
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