Greetings to all those that this reaches, This is Martha Crawford LCSW, and I am asking for help in supporting an amazing young woman who needs a community gathered around her to support her in her goals. Background Let me tell you some of Avery's story: When she was young, her parents divorced - and then when Avery was eleven, her step-father died in a highway accident and her mother passed away from fatal skin cancer shortly afterwards. Avery moved in with her biological father, unprepared to raise a child, who had significant struggles with substance abuse and was extremely volatile. Avery assumed a significant amount of responsibility for maintaining the household at a very young age - managing the household finances and correspondence, negotiating with landlords and working many hours to help pay her own tuition at a local private Catholic school. Despite the loss, trauma and chaos surrounding her, Avery was able to maintain excellent grades in school, hold down a job, and consistently volunteer to help others in her community. It was at this time that my own teenagers met Avery and formed a friendship with her. Avery's kindness and resilience were apparent from the first moment we met her. Avery's father became increasingly unstable and abusive, and Avery did her best to keep up appearances and her functioning at school, but eventually reported the abuse to a school counselor who contacted New Mexico's Child Youth and Families Department (child welfare services) who arranged temporary housing for her and then promptly closed her case - offering no other services, follow up or support. At that time, I became involved in trying to get some safety, housing and support to Avery. Avery was, through all of this chaos, able to graduate from high school with honors and a 4.3 grade point average and received her Catholic school's Founder's Award for the student who most exemplifies Franciscan values. Avery is now attending the University of San Francisco, which is an excellent fit for her values and is also the school that offered her the most significant aid package. She has taken out the maximum federal loans that are available to her. She has received a generous Ignatius Merit Scholarship based on her excellent grades. She is exploring work/study options that might be compatible with her rigorous STEM class schedule. She is a biology student who hopes to go onto graduate school to study neuroscience. Despite her hard work, Avery is still without sufficient funds for her educational and life expenses for the next three years. Listen: If all of us who love Avery had the means to simply pay all of uncovered expenses we would do so. None of us on Team Avery have sufficient funds among us to support her in the way we all believe she deserves. Financial Projections to Graduation - The Next 3 Years Avery's total projected out of pocket expenses amount to about $45,000 a year, about $135,000 over the next three years. Our household is able to contribute $5000 a year and other GFM team members and generous supporters have made annual commitments as well. Goal for Academic Year 2024-25 After Avery's earnings combined with the annual commitments made by supporters, Avery's yearly shortfall is about $17,500 for school, room and board and insurance medical expenses, transportation & psychotherapy. We are incredibly grateful that this Go Fund Me was able to fill this funding gap for Avery's Freshman year by raising $17,400! THANK YOU ALL SO MUCH! But this is an annual shortfall, and to keep her in school, we need to raise approximately the same amount each year. We also hope to create a little financial cushion should emergencies arise. She has no other safety net than the one we are all cobbling together. Some of these funds will be used immediately to pay monthly school bills. The rest of these funds will be reserved for her educational and living expenses over the next three years. If she receives additional support, aid or scholarships we will adjust our goals to reflect that. There are several responsible adults available to Avery to support her in making prudent financial decisions (she is already very responsible with her savings, earnings and spending). Please help us to help an amazing young woman, who has protected her heart through more losses and challenges than many people face in a lifetime, and who has a beautiful future in front of her with the encouragement of a supportive community. We will post updates regularly to thank you all and to show you how we are applying your donations. We can't thank you enough for any assistance you can offer, and please share with anyone you think may be moved to help! Thank you so much from all of us on Team Avery: Martha, David, Catherine, Bre, & Logan, and of course: Avery PS: It is a priority for me, that Avery get to be as much of a college student, just to have a chance to be a regular college kid -with more than enough on her plate - so I'd like folks to understand that this is my ask, a mature adult's ask, and the ask of those of us who have directly stepped in behind her in her mother's absence. We are thankful to each of you. I am so grateful for you helping me to help her, and I am thrilled to watch her get a chance to thrive. Blessings, Martha
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